THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELLS 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  la?t  date  <r<>TiDrd  V -w 

I 


SOUTHERN    BRANCH 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LIBRARY 

LOS  ANGELES.  CAIJ- 


ASTRONOMY 

WITH    T  HE    N  AJ^E  D    E  Y  t 

A  NEW  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  HEAV ENS 


WITH     DESCRIPTIONS   AND    CHARTS   OK 
CONSTELLATIONS.  STARS,  AND  PLANETS 


IJY 

GARRETT      P.     SERVISS 

AfTIIOK    OP 

"ACTXONOMY  WITH  AN  orixA  GLAM* 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

If  CM  VII] 


Copyright,  1908,  by  HARPKR  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  rtiervtd. 

Published  April,  1908. 


MrtK  & 
Mathematical 
Sciences 


NORMAL  SCHOOL, 

ItOS  AHOHUB8,  CJUl. 


TO 

GARRETT   P.  SERVISS.  JR. 

UNTIMELY  DEAD  AT  ITHACA,  N.  Y. 

DECEMBER   23,   1907 


CONTENTS 

i 

HE  PLEASURE  OP  KNOWING  THE  CONSTELLATIONS 

^1^  "  I*n.dm*rks~Effect  of  going  north  or  south  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  heavens— Personal  influence  of  the  stars— View- 
ing the  constellations  amid  historic  scenes — Cassiopeia  seen  from 
aytemnestra's  tomb-The  celestial  pageant  from  Mount  Etna 
•The  stars  announce  the  seasons-Atmospheric  influence  on 
the  appearance  of  the  stars-Individuality  of  the  stars— Star 
magmtudes-Star  colors-The  charm  of  star  groupings-Th^ 
hannonv  of  the  <T>h,.r,.< H,,..,  ._».-«_  . 


II 
30NSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN   IN  JANUARY 

efinition  of  the  meridian— The  double  revolution  of  the  heavens 

-Aunga,  the  charioteer-Capella  and  its  history-Camelopar- 

.s-Taurus,  the  Bull-Aldebaran-The  Hyades-The  Plda- 

—Worship  of  and  superstition  about  the  Pleiades— Orion 

toe  most  brilliant  constellation— Betelgeusc-Rigel-The  Belt 

Stars-Bellatrix-The   Great   Nebula-Story  of   Orion— Tek- 

jcopic  nches-Eridanus-Great  length  of   the  constellation - 

story-Telescopic  stars-Lepus,  the  Hare-Its  conspicuous 

srtuation-Its  ongm  — A  wonderful  red  star  —  Columba  the 

Page  16 

III 
WSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN  IN  FEBRUARY 

nis  Major,  the  Greater  Dog— Sinus— Why  called  the  Doe  Star 
-Legends  and  superstitions  about  Sirius— Its  strange  com- 


CONTENTS 

panion  —  Monoceros  —  Canis  Minor  —  Procyon  —  Gemini,  the] 
Twins,  the  fourth  constellation  of  the  zodiac  —  Castor  and 
Pollux  — Their  history  —  Why  called  the  sailors'  stars  — 
Lynx Page  4a 

IV 
CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN   IN   MARCH 

Cancer,  the  Crab,  the  fifth  constellation  of  the  zodiac — The  Man- 
ger, or  Praesepe — Ancient  importance  as  a  weather  sign — Ga- 
lileo's discovery — Planetary  conjunctions  in  Cancer — Hydra, 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  constellations — Superstitions  concern- 
ing it  Page  57 

V 
CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN  IN  APRIL 

Leo,  the  Lion,  sixth  of  the  zodiacal  set — The  figure  of  the  Sickle — 
The  famous  star  Regulus — This  constellation  always  repre- 
sented as  a  lion — Leo  Minor — Ursa  Major,  the  Greater  Bear — 
The  celebrated  figure  of  the  Great  Dipper — Its  various  names — 
The  names  of  its  seven  stars — Mizar  and  Alcor — Sextans — 
Crater,  the  Cup Page  65 

VI 
CONSTELLATIONS    ON    THE    MERIDIAN    IN    MAY 

Corvus,  the  Crow — Virgo,  the  seventh  constellation  of  the  zodiac— 
The  beautiful  Spica — A  mine  of  myths— The  field  of  the  Neb- 
uUe  —  Coma  Berenices — The  legend  of  a  queen's  hair — Lilac 
stars— Canes  Venatici,  the  Hunting  Dogs— The  beautiful  Cot 
Caroli Page  ;• 

VII 
CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN  JUNE 

Libra,  the  Balance,  eighth  in  the  zodiacal  circle— A  green  star- 
Bootes,  the  great  constellation  of  the  north— Arcturus  and  its 
vi 


CONTENTS 

greatjame— Corona  Borealis-Beautiful  form  of  the  constella- 

!  Thn  .IP i  thC  C!?wn~ Ursa  Minor-  the  polar  constella- 
Uon-The  star  Polaris-Draco,  the  great  dragon  of  the  north- 
Alpha  Draconis,  formerly  the  pole  star-Relation  of  the  Great 
Pyramid  to  th,s  star-History  of  Gamma  Draconis  .  Page  8 7 

VIII 
CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE   MERIDIAN   IN  JULY 

inth  zodiacal  constellation -Conspicuous  figure  of  the 
-The  great   red   star   Antares-Its   wonderful    croon 


-.n^uH.u^-OphiuchuV^nd^pe^^^.r^^nsS1 

turn  toward,  which  the  earth  is  tmvelling-Mystic ^  signTficanco 

istellation  in  ancient  times Pagc  Ioa 

IX 
[CONSTELLATIONS    ON    THE    MERIDIAN    IN    AUGUST 


fVhM%lewrCher>  tCnth  «»»*«»tion  of  the  zodiac-Beauty 
of  the  Milky  Way  m  Sagittarius-Scutum  Sobicskii  and  itTsUr 

"  Uia  E~  " 


Ie7    dUfa'  lE^~^  •«"  Altair-Thc  curious  Ch 
legend  of  the  Spinning  Damsel  and  the  Magpie  Bridgc- 

w'h      '     anP^f  O^h^~^^^r  s^endor  of^he 
—When  it  will  be  the  pole  star  again    .     .     Page  1  12 

X 

CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN  IN  SEPTEMBER 

,       n,  °f  thc  "x*™*1  circle-The  Gate 

7?    Ph,inUS'TthC  DoIPhi"-The  fable  of  Arion- 
-Vulpecula-Lord    Rossc's    wonderful     Dumb-bell 

Northcm 


XI 
ONSTELLATIONS    ON    THE    MERIDIAN    IN    OCTOBER 

Aquarius  the  Water-bearer,  the  last  in  the  zodiacal 
Austrahs,  the  Southern  Fish-The  star 


vii 


CONTENTS 

the  Winged  Horse— The  Great  Square  of  Pegasus— Legends  of 
the  Winged  Horse — Lacerta — Cepheus,  the  King — The  Royal 
Family  of  the  sky Page  130 

XII 
CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN   IN  NOVEMBER 

Pisces,  the  Fishes,  leader  of  the  zodiac — The  Greenwich  of  the 
sky — Planetary  conjunctions  in  Pisces — Andromeda,  the  con- 
stellation of  romance — The  great  Andromeda  nebula — Story  of 
Andromeda  and  her  rescuer,  Perseus — Cassiopeia,  the  Queen 
— The  "W,"  or  Key — Tycho  Brahe's  star  .  .  .  Page  138 

XIII 
CONSTELLATIONS  ON  THE  MERIDIAN   IN   DECEMBER 

Aries,  the  Ram,  leader  of  the  zodiacal  signs — Antiquity  of  the 
constellation — Triangulum — Perseus,  the  conqueror  of  the  Gor- 
gon— The  Gorgon  star  Alcor — The  new  star  of  1901 — Cetus, 
the  Whale — The  wonderful  variable  Mira  .  .  .  Page  148 

XIV 
THE  SOUTHERN   CONSTELLATIONS 

Argo  Navis  —  The  great  star  Canopus  —  The  South  Pole  —  The 
Southern  Cross— Centaurus — Alpha  Centauri,  the  nearest  star 
— Ara,  the  Altar— The  Triangle— Grus  and  Toucan— The  Phce- 
nix — The  Southern  Eridanus — The  star  Achernar — The  Magel- 
lanic  clouds Page  158 

XV 
THE   MILKY   WAY 

Ancient  ideas  of  the  Milky  Way— The  pathway  of  the  gods  and 
of  spirits— The  story  of  Phaeton— The  Milky  Way  figured  as  a 
river— Course  of  the  Milky  Way  through  the  sky— Great  stars 
that  follow  the  Milky  Way— The  Coal  Sack— Mythology  of  the 

ay Page  171 

viii 


CONTENTS 

XVI 

THE  ZODIACAL   LIGHT 

Its  appearance  and  the  seasons  when  best  seen— Traced  across 
the  whole  sky— Du  Chaillu's  description—  Humboldfs  descrip- 
tion— Scientific  theories  of  the  Zodiacal  Light  Page  182 

XVII 
THE    PLANETS 

How  they  differ  in  appearance  from  stars— Their  motions— Five 
»nly  known  to  the  ancients — Superstitions  about  them— The 
first  discoveries— Mercury.  Venus.  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn; 
their  peculiarities,  their  sizes,  distances,  movements,  rotations, 
surface  characteristics,  and  their  condition  from  the  point  of 
view  of  habitability  .  pagc  ,86 

XVIII 
THE    MOON 

Fascination  exercised  by  the  moon— The  strange  spots  on  her 
surface— Stories  of  the  Man  in  the  Moon— Stories  of  the  Woman 
in  the  Moon— The  Hare  in  the  Moon— Galileo's  discoveries- 
Nature  of  the  lunar  surface— The  birth  of  the  moon  from  the 
earth— The  question  of  habitability— Eclipses,  their  scientific 
importance,  their  popular  interest,  and  the  superstitions  asso- 
ciated with  them — Earthlight  on  the  moon — The  moon  and  the 
months — Occultations  by  the  moon Paae  226 

INDEX Page  a43 


LIST  OF  CHARTS 

CHART  I Facing  page  1 6 

CHART  II "  "  43 

CHART  III "  "  58 

CHART  IV "  "  66 

CHART  V "  "  78 

CHART  VI "  "  88 

CHART  VII "  "  102 

CHART  VIII "  "  ua 

CHART  IX "  "  122 

CHART  X "  "  130 

CHART  XI "  "  138 

CHART  XII "  "  148 

CHART  XIII "  "  158 

CHART  XIV.  "  "  226 


PREFACE 

/  8847 

T^HE  specific  things  undertaken  in  this  book  are: 
1  First,  the  presentation  of  a  set  of  star-charts,  ac- 
companying and  illustrating  the  text,  and  containing 
the  constellation  figures,  so  that  the  reader  may  see 
those  strange  forms  that  the  imaginations  of  men 
for  thousands  of  years  have  drawn  in  the  sky.  The 
charts  also  contain  all  the  stars  that  have  received 
distinctive  names,  and  with  these  all  the  other  stars 
that  the  unaided  eye  readily  perceives.  The  sixth- 
magnitude  stars  are  visible  to  ordinarily  good  eyes, 
but  they  are  inconspicuous.  The  charts  are  reduc- 
tions from  Heis's  Atlas  Ctclestis. 

A  chart  of  the  southern  sky  has  been  added  to 
cover  the  constellations  not  visible  from  our  latitudes. 

Second,  the  march  of  the  constellations  across  the 
sky,  resulting  from  the  annual  revolution  of  the  earth 
in  its  orbit,  is  followed  from  month  to  month,  and 
they  are  presented  in  the  text  according  to  the  times 
of  their  successive  arrivals  near  the  meridian,  the 
north  and  south  line  of  the  sky.  Of  course  they  are 
not  visible  only  when  on  or  near  the  meridian;  but 
some  system  must  be  followed  in  describing  them, 
and  this  arrangement,  recognizing  the  sequence  of  the 
months,  and  presenting  them  when,  upon  the  whole, 
they  are  best  placed  for  observation,  seemed  prefer- 
xiii 


PREFACE 

able  to  any  other.  The  appearance  of  the  constella- 
tions, as  viewed  with  the  naked  eye,  is  described, 
their  histories  and  mythologies  are  given,  and  the 
stories  of  their  chief  stars  and  star  groups  are  detailed. 
For  the  convenience  of  those  who  have  telescopes, 
some  of  the  double  stars  and  other  interesting  tele- 
.  scopic  objects  in  each  constellation  are  described 
and  their  positions  indicated. 

Third,  the  planets  are  described  in  a  separate 
chapter,  with  illustrations  intended  to  enable  the 
uninitiated  reader  to  follow  their  paths  among  the 
stars  and  to  predict  their  approximate  places  for 
himself.  In  consequence  of  their  constant  motion, 
the  planets  cannot  be  indicated  by  symbols  definitely 
located  on  the  charts  like  the  fixed  stars. 

To  sum  up,  the  general  purpose  is  to  revive  and 
cultivate  interest  in  the  picturesque  and  easily  un- 
derstood side  of  astronomy,  so  that  everybody  who 
wishes  may  "feel  at  home  in  the  starry  heavens," 
may  share  in  the  great  intellectual  pleasures  which 
an  acquaintance  with  them  invariably  gives,  and  may 
understand  and  enjoy  the  references  to  the  stars,  the 
constellations,  and  the  planets  that  abound  in  all 
literatures  and  in  all  the  periodicals  of  the  day. 

GARRETT  P.  SERVISS. 

BOROUGH  OP  BROOKLYN,  NEW  YORK, 
March,  1908. 


ASTRONOMY 
WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 


ASTRONOMY 
WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

i 

THE    PLEASURE   OP   KNOWING   THE   CONSTELLATIONS 

"  If  the  stars  should  appear  one  night  in  a  thousand  years,  how 
would  men  believe  and  adore  and  preserve  for  many  generations 
the  remembrance  of  the  city  of  God  which  had  been  shown?" 

— RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON. 

THE  stars  are  the  true  landmarks  which  are 
never  changed.  Because  of  their  infinite  dis- 
tance they  are  always  at  hand,  for  no  shifting  of  our 
place  upon  the  tiny  earth  can  sensibly  alter  their 
position.  If,  when  we  travel  into  strange  lands,  the 
familiar  stars  vanished  and  new  ones  took  their  place, 
our  feeling  of  remoteness  from  home  would  become 
unbearable.  We  should  lose  confidence  in  ourselves. 
It  was  the  friendly  stars  that  first  led  men  round  the 
globe.  As  long  as  those  well-known  sentinels  shone, 
tranquil  and  steadfast  overhead,  they  had  courage 
to  go  on  and  on.  If  the  stars  had  deserted  him,  even 
Columbus  would  have  lost  heart.  Because  when  we 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

cross  the  equator  and  travel  into  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere some  of  the  constellations  do  sink  permanently 
below  the  horizon,  while  unfamiliar  ones  rise  in  the 
opposite  quarter,  a  journey  in  that  direction  seems 
longer  than  others.  Nothing  astonished  the  early 
navigators  more  than  the  unusual  aspect  of  the 
austral  firmament,  and  in  particular  the  splendor  of 
the  Magellanic  clouds  and  the  Southern  Cross,  which 
seemed  to  them  symbolic  of  an  unknown  world. 
The  renown  that  these  constellations  attained  in  the 
days  of  the  first  circumnavigators  still  kindles  the 
imagination. 

So,  in  the  far  north  the  strange  aspect  of  the  noc- 
turnal sky  and  the  displacement  of  the  arctic  con- 
stellations agitate  the  most  undaunted  spirits  as 
much  as  does  the  extraordinary  character  of  the 
landscapes.  The  man  who  stands  upon  the  pole  of 
the  earth,  as  somebody  will  do  some  day,  will  behold 
nothing  so  fantastically  wonderful  as  the  horizontal 
motion  of  the  heavens,  carrying  the  stars  in  circles 
of  perpetual  apparition,  and  swinging  the  sun  and  the 
moon  round  the  whole  horizon  as  if  suspended  by 
invisible  chains  from  the  vortex  of  the  world. 

In  the  experiences  and  sentiments  of  individual 
life  the  stars  play  a  great  part.  Many  a  lonely  night, 
with  all  terrestrial  friends  far  away,  has  been  bright- 
ened for  me  by  the  fraternal  presence  of  Orion  or 
Bootes.  Amid  the  solitude  of  a  hunter's  camp,  with 
companions  absent  on  a  night-long  expedition,  and 
the  watch-fire  languishing,  it  has  been  an  inexpres- 
sible comfort  to  see  through  the  lofty  tops  of  the 
trees  familiar  constellations  flashing  recognition  and 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

giving  assurance  of  their  unfailing  nearness.  Aratus, 
the  Greek  singer  of  the  stars,  clearly  expressed  a 
personal  experience  when  he  wrote  that  "from  all 
quarters  heaven  speaks  to  man."  Make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Polaris,  Sirius,  Arcturus,  Regulus,  Vega, 
Spica,  Rigel,  and  they  will  be  always  with  you  on 
your  mundane  way,  never  leaving  you  alone  and 
unfriended.  He  who  knows  the  stars  and  constel- 
lations carries  the  map  of  the  world  in  his  head.  He 
has  a  book  older  than  Homer  always  open  before  him. 
He  is  in  a  gallery  of  pictures  containing  the  master- 
pieces of  the  human  imagination  when  the  world  was 
young  and  thought  untrammelled. 

The  mere  names  of  the  ancient  constellations  cap- 
tivate the  mind.  Who  can  look  unmoved  upon 
Andromeda,  chained,  and  Perseus,  with  diamond 
sword,  speeding  to  her  rescue;  or  upon  Orion,  lifting 
his  starry  club  to  meet  the  Bull,  charging  headlong 
down  the  curve  of  the  zodiac?  It  is  a  felicity  to 
know  Sirius,  that  great  prismatic  star  that  awed  the 
ancient  land  of  the  Nile  at  his  rising,  and  in  whose- 
honor  immense  temples,  the  oldest  in  the  world,  were 
erected;  or  Arcturus,  whose  power  and  beauty  in- 
spired the  poet  Job. 

Among  the  tableaux  of  memory  that  I  should  most 
grieve  to  lose  are  views  of  the  picturesque  heavens 
disclosed  amid  remarkable  scenes  in  foreign  lands.  I 
would  instance  a  vision  of  Cassiopeia,  seen  shortly 
before  dawn  on  an  August  morning  through  the 
broken  roof  of  the  huge  vaulted  sepulchre  at  Mycenae, 
called  Clytemnestra's  tomb.  I  had  ridden  through 
a  moonlit  night  from  Corinth,  over  the  mountain- 
3 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

cms  neck  of  the  Peloponnesus,  and  down  to  the 
head  of  the  Valley  of  Argolis,  and  had  arrived  at  the 
ruins  of  Agamemnon's  capital  just  as  the  moon  set, 
at  the  darkest  hour  of  the  night.  Amid  the  gloom, 
fighting  off  the  awakened  dogs,  I  set  out  with  my 
guide  to  explore  the  half-disinterred  city.  After  we 
had  viewed  the  bat-inhabited  interior  of  the  so- 
called  Treasury  of  Atreus  by  the  light  of  a  brush- 
fire,  we  approached  the  smaller  "beehive  tomb"  of 
Clytemnestra,  near  the  Gate  of  the  Lions.  Stum- 
bling over  fallen  stones,  I  found  myself  in  the  empty 
chamber  where  the  body  of  the  royal  murderess  is 
said  to  have  lain  three  thousand  years  ago,  and, 
glancing  upward,  was  startled  at  the  sight  of  Cas- 
siopeia, flashing  down  through  the  shattered  dome 
from  her  throne  of  stars.  Near  her  shone  her  daugh- 
ter Andromeda,  and  Perseus,  the  slayer  of  the  Medusa 
and  the  Sea  Dragon.  From  the  underground  gloom 
that  enveloped  us  the  spectacle  was  more  magnifi- 
cent than  I  can  picture  it  in  words.  But  its  great- 
est power  lay  in  suggestion,  for  who  could  help  re- 
membering the  legend  that  those  starry  characters 
had  had  their  birth  in  this  very  valley,  and  had 
founded  Mycena?,  long  anterior  to  the  days  of  Clyt- 
emnestra and  Helen,  Agamemnon  and  Hector  ?  Cas- 
siopeia had  probably  found  her  place  in  the  stars,  and 
been  recognized  there,  before  Homer's  songs  were  sung. 
To  know  the  constellations  is  better  than  to  know  the 
Iliad — and  easier. 

Another  instance  of  the  exquisite  pleasure  that 
acquaintance  with  the  constellations  is  capable  of 
adding  to  the  enjoyment  of  impressive  and  historic 
4 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

scenes  recurs  with  the  recollection  of  a  view  of  the 
starry  heavens  which  I  once  had  from  the  unob- 
structed summit  of  Mount  Etna,  which,  having  no 
rival  within  the  entire  range  of  vision,  puts  a  circle 
eight  hundred  miles  in  circumference  under  the 
observer's  eyes,  while  lifting  him  on  its  lone  pinnacle 
into  the  midst  of  the  sky.  Three  or  four  hours  after 
midnight,  at  the  time  of  the  Autumnal  Equinox,  I 
stood  on  the  verge  of  the  great  crater,  and  after  a 
shuddering  glance  at  the  fiery  spiracles  of  the  volca- 
no, deep  in  its  throat,  turned  to  look  off.  The  dark- 
ness over  the  world  below  seemed  fathomless,  except 
where  the  lights  of  Catania  lay  sparkling  tremulously, 
as  if  a  living  constellation  had  fallen  there  and  sunk 
to  the  bottom  of  the  aerial  ocean.  For  an  instant  I 
quailed  at  the  sight  of  the  smooth,  jet-black  slopes 
of  the  cone,  gliding,  terrifically  steep,  down  into  the 
gloom  until,  like  shadows,  they  vanished;  but  the 
glory  of  the  surrounding  heavens  soon  blended  all 
sensations  into  that  of  sublimity  alone. 

Beyond  the  Gulf  of  Erebus,  in  the  direction  of  the 
Strait  of  Messina,  where  modern  guide-books  show 
the  seats  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  above  the 
dimly  visible  mountains  of  Calabria,  rose  a  refulgent 
procession.  First,  the  starry  prow  of  Argo,  Jason's 
ship,  in  which  he  chased  the  Golden  Fleece;  then 
Canis  Major,  with  blinding  Sirius  in  his  jaws;  then 
Orion,  magnificent  with  his  jewels  as  I  had  never 
beheld  him ;  Eridanus,  winding  in  streams  of  golden 
stars;  and  Taurus,  ablaze  with  the  splendor  of  the 
Hyades  and  the  Pleiades.  Parallel  with  this  train 
of  celestial  pageants  was  stretched  the  lustrous  scarf 
5 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

of  the  Galaxy,  and  from  another  point  on  the  horizon 
towered  the  Zodiacal  Light,  a  gleaming  portent,  with 
Jupiter  glowing  calm  and  steady  at  its  apex,  as  if 
Zeus  on  Olympus  were  presiding  again  over  the  gods 
and  heroes.  The  whole  sky  was  a  pictured  scroll  of 
Greek  mythology,  while  the  land  beneath  it  was 
"more  Greek  than  Greece  itself" — the  land  of  The- 
ocritus, Amaryllis,  Persephone,  Lacon,  Daphnis,  Em- 
pedocles.  Yonder,  just  under  the  coils  of  the  celes- 
tial Hydra,  was  the  slope  where  the  heedless  com- 
panions of  Ulysses  hunted  the  oxen  of  the  sun,  and 
I  knew  that  when  daylight  came  I  should  perceive, 
just  at  the  edge  of  the  sea  there,  the  black  rocks 
that  Polyphemus  is  said  to  have  hurled  after  the 
escaping  ship  of  the  cunning  hero  who  had  blinded 
him.  Towards  the  south,  with  Jason's  ship  glitter- 
ing above  it,  lay  ancient  Syracuse,  with  Arethusa's 
magic  fountain,  and  the  reedy  home  of  Cyane. 
Southwest,  under  the  star-shod  feet  of  Pegasus,  was 
the  sacred  hill  of  Enna,  and  the  necromantic  lake 
where  Aidoneus  carried  off  Persephone  to  the  under- 
world, until  Demeter  found  and  rescued  her.  Thus 
the  memories  that  rose  in  crowds  from  the  storied 
land  hidden  below,  answering  to  the  emblazoned 
legends  written  with  starry  fires  overhead,  afforded 
an  hour  of  romantic  contemplation  without  a  parallel 
in  my  experience. 

It  is  no  small  part  of  the  charm  and  interest  of 
the  constellations  that  they  announce  and  prefigure 
the  seasons.  Spring,,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter — 
each  has  its  characteristic  stars,  which  keep  step 
with  the  year.  When  the  early  snows  whiten  the 
6 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

hills  in  December  comes,  with  the  jingling  of  sleigh- 
bells,  Orion.  Who  would  not  wish  to  know  him  as 
he  climbs  the  eastern  sky,  scintillant  with  star-gems, 
darting  vivid  sparks  of  varied  color  that  affect  the 
eye  as  the  bells  do  the  ear?  The  coruscating  land- 
scape and  the  spangled  firmament  are  in  accord. 
Orion,  in  a  listless  summer  night,  when  the  face  of 
the  earth  is  dark  and  still,  and  the  starlight  falls 
without  a  ripple  in  the  languid  air,  would  be  deprived 
of  half  his  splendor.  Orion,  declining  to  the  west  in 
a  spring  evening  when  the  snows  are  gone,  the  trees 
have  begun  to  feel  the  sap,  and  the  misty  atmosphere 
is  drowsy  with  the  aroma  of  the  awakening  earth, 
is  a  dethroned  monarch.  The  mighty  star  fields 
surrounding  him  are  then  like  the  scenes  of  a  theatre 
after  pallid  dawn  steals  in  upon  them. 

But  the  charm  of  the  heavens  does  not  cease  at 
the  advent  of  spring — the  wand  passes  to  another  set 
of  constellations.  The  vernal  sky  has  its  own  en- 
chantment. As  the  earth  puts  on  its  earliest  verdure 
the  mild  light  of  Virgo  appears  in  the  east,  and 
silvery  Spica  beams  in  placid  rivalry  with  the  gold- 
orange  radiance  of  Arcturus  hanging  below  the  great 
handle  of  the  Dipper,  between  the  sheen  of  Berenice's 
Hair  and  the  linked  pearls  of  the  Northern  Crown. 
The  constellations  that  rise  at  the  opening  of  the 
year,  instead  of  the  ostentation  and  magnificence 
displayed  in  the  hiemal  sky,  possess  a  quiet  beauty 
that  harmonizes  with  the  season.  When,  in  an  April 
or  May  night,  the  sedate  Virgin  glows  amid  her  well- 
ordered  stars,  like  an  abbess  surrounded  by  white- 
veiled  nuns,  how  exquisitely  the  celestial  mood  re- 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

spends  to  the  brooding  planet!  No  one  who  has  not 
had  the  experience  can  imagine,  or  fully  credit,  the 
thrill  of  pleasure  that  comes  to  the  lover  of  the  stars 
with  his  earliest  glimpse  of  the  constellations  that 
announce  the  morning  of  the  year.  It  is  a  joy  deeper 
than  that  felt  by  the  discoverer  of  the  first  rhodora 
in  the  woods.  Those  constellations  are  as  much  a 
part  of  the  season  and  as  prophetic  of  its  delights 
as  are  the  scented  air  and  the  pied  meadows. 

And  with  summer  arrives  yet  another  empyreal 
pageant  as  gorgeous  as  that  which  then  decks  the 
teeming  surface  of  the  globe.  Scorpio,  sprawling 
over  the  horizon,  with  fire-red  Antares  flaring  on 
his  carapace,  seems  to  burn  with  ardent  reflection  of 
the  torrid  sunset.  The  Crown  hangs  lambent  in  the 
zenith,  and,  festooned  across  the  orient  sky,  like 
sheets  of  summer  lightning  arrested  and  motionless, 
hangs  the  Milky  Way.  Vega,  as  pure  a  diamond  as 
the  sky  contains,  glows  among  the  silver-gemmed 
strings  of  the  Lyre,  while  the  centaur,  Sagittarius, 
lazily  draws  his  arrow  to  the  head  and  takes  his 
never-ending  aim,  where  the  Galaxy  spreads  brightest 
above  the  southern  verge  of  the  sleeping  earth. 

Then  on  comes  winter  once  again,  and  the  snort- 
ing blasts  of  December  are  not  more  characteristic 
of  the  boreal  season  than  is  the  return  of  those  con- 
stellations whose  distinguishing  feature  is  the  keen 
brilliance  of  their  stars,  startling  and  piercing  the  eye 
with  incessant  darts.  The  quality  of  the  sidereal 
radiations  is  now  different.  Aldebaran  in  Taurus  is 
red,  and  so  is  Antares  in  Scorpio,  but  the  redness  of 
Aldebaran  is  that  of  a  polished  gem,  while  the  redness 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

of  Antares  is  the  soft  color  of  flame.  The  cause  of 
the  difference  is  no  doubt  largely  atmospheric,  and 
allied  to  that  which  produces  the  distinctive  textures 
of  summer  and  winter  clouds.  The  mien  of  Orion 
and  his  glittering  attendants  is  essentially  spectacu- 
lar. The  aspect  of  this  assemblage  of  epauletted 
constellations  recalls  a  fanfare  of  trumpets.  They 
are  so  showy  and  restless  in  their  multitudinous 
flickerings,  and  have  such  an  appearance  of  carry- 
ing the  celestial  battlements  with  a  rush,  that  one 
almost  fancies  a  shout  from  the  sky! 

The  individuality,  and  perhaps  I  may  say  the 
personal  peculiarities,  of  the  stars,  are  sources  of 
endless  pleasure  for  those  who  study  them.  The 
science  of  stellar  photometry  divides  the  stars  visible 
to  the  naked  eye  into  six  magnitudes,  or  orders  of 
brightness.  But  these  are  arbitrary,  and  the  actual 
gradations  are  innumerable.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
as  difficult  to  find  two  stars  precisely  alike  as  to  find 
exact  counterparts  among  the  faces  in  a  crowd. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  conspicuous  stars  which 
the  eye  sees  without  any  effort  of  looking.  No  two 
ranked  as  of  the  first  magnitude  are  equal,  and  the 
inequality  in  some  cases  is  very  great.  Sirius,  the 
indisputable  leader  of  the  whole  stellar  host,  is  ten 
or  twelve  times  brighter  than  either  Fomalhaut  or 
Deneb  Cygni,  yet  both  of  these  are  generally  called 
first  -  magnitude  stars.  In  fact,  the  first  -  magnitude 
stars,  to  which  dignity  the  most  indulgent  estimate 
can  admit  but  twenty  in  the  entire  firmament,  con- 
stitute a  kind  of  sidereal  peerage  whose  members 
exhibit  as  much  variation  in  splendor  and  impres- 

a  9 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

siveness  as  do  the  princes,  dukes,  marquises,  and 
earls  of  a  terrestrial  nobility.  Indeed,  according  to 
the  more  strict  photometry  developed  in  the  closing 
decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there  are  eight 
star  magnitudes  embraced  within  the  range  of  the 
naked  eye,  two  grades  having  been  added  above  the 
old  first  magnitude.  The  highest,  or  brightest,  is  the 
negative  first  magnitude.  Then  comes  the  zero  mag- 
nitude, and  below  that  follow,  in  order,  the  former 
first,  seco^,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  magni- 
tudes. Between  one  magnitude  and  its  next  neighbor 
the  increase,  or  decrease,  of  brightness  is  approxi- 
mately two-and-a-half  times  (accurately,  2.512) — *.  e., 
a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  is  two-and-a-half  times 
as  bright  as  one  of  the  second  magnitude,  six-and-a- 
quarter  times  as  bright  as  one  of  the  third  mag- 
nitude (2.5  x  2.5  =  6.25),  and  so  on,  a  sixth-magnitude 
star  having  only  one-one-hundredth  as  much  light 
as  a  first-magnitude  one.  Standards  of  the  first 
magnitude  are  Aldebaran  and  Altair.  The  zero  mag- 
nitude is  two-and-a-half  times  as  bright  as  the  first 
magnitude.  Arcturus  is  a  representative  of  this  rank. 
The  negative  first  magnitude,  two-and-a-half  times 
brighter  yet,  has  but  one  member,  the  princely 
Sirius,  and  he  even  exceeds  the  ideal  standard  of 
his  own  rank,  his  .actual  magnitude  being  —1.4. 
The  actual  brilliance  of  Sirius  exceeds  that  of  a 
standard  first-magnitude  star  about  nine  times.  Next 
to  Sirius  in  brightness  is  Canopus,  in  the  Southern 
Hemisphere,  invisible  from  most  of  the  United  States. 
According  to  some  estimates,  Canopus  should  be 
admitted  to  the  negative  first  magnitude,  but  he 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

would  occupy  a  place  in  that  order  far  below 
Sirius. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  brightness  that  the  stars 
differ  one  from  another.  Their  variations  in  color 
are  only  less  striking.  Even  those  that  are  called 
white  show  surprising  chromatic  variations.  Both 
Vega  and  Sirius  are  reckoned  as  white,  but  the 
former  has  a  distinct  tinge  of  blue  and  the  latter  a 
shada  of  green.  Rigel  is  also  a  blue-white  star,  but 
the  intermixture  of  azure  is  less  pronounced  than  in 
Vega.  Procyon  is  white  of  a  yellowish  tinge,  Capella 
is  creamy  white,  and  Spica  silvery.  On  the  other 
hand,  Arcturus,  Betelgeuse,  Aldebaran,  and  Antares 
are  all  spoken  of  as  red,  or  ruddy,  yet  the  first  is 
yellowish-red  (in  some  states  of  the  air  simply  light 
yellow),  the  second  is  topaz-hued,  the  third  is  a 
light  rose,  and  the  fourth  is  the  color  of  fire.  The 
atmosphere  has  much  to  do  with  the  color  and  aspect 
of  the  stars.  Faint  stars  are  best  seen  near  the 
zenith,  where  their  light  suffers  the  least  absorption. 
Very  bright  stars,  on  the  contrary,  often  seem  most 
brilliant  when  near  the  horizon,  where,  although 
they  are  robbed  of  half  their  light,  their  rays  play 
with  amazing  vivacity,  and  dart  prismatic  flashes. 
Prosper  Henry  pointed  out  the  fact  that  when  a  star 
close  to  the  horizon  is  viewed  with  a  telescope  its 
image,  instead  of  being  a  point,  appears  in  the  form 
of  a  little  vertical  spectrum,  or  band  of  prismatic 
colors,  the  red,  as  the  least  refrangible,  being  at 
the  top. 

Then  there  is  a  wonderful  charm  in  the  grouping 
of  the  stars,  and  this  gave  rise  to  the  invention  of  the 
ii 


,  cm*. 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

constellations.  In  their  assemblages  they  set  off  and 
heighten  one  another's  attractions.  Anybody  can 
verify  the  truth  of  Xavier  de  Maistre's  remark  that 
when  one  fixes  his  eyes  on  a  particular  star  all  of  its 
neighbors  seem  to  scintillate  more  vividly,  as  if  to 
divert  his  attention  to  them.  The  shapes  of  many 
constellations  give  a  geometrical  enjoyment  to  the 
eye.  The  suggestion  of  some  law  of  connection 
among  their  stars  also  sets  the  imagination  at  work. 
The  impression  thus  produced  recalls  what  Hum- 
boldt  says  of  the  singular  mental  influence  of  the 
forms  of  such  lands  as  Italy,  Sicily,  and  Greece,  and 
of  such  bodies  of  water  as  the  Black  and  Caspian 
seas.  The  Belt  of  Orion,  with  its  surprising  straight- 
ness  and  the  notable  equality  of  its  stars,  which 
resemble  carefully  matched  gems  set  on  a  bar,  pro- 
duces an  ineffaceable  impression  which  seems  as  won- 
derful the  hundredth  time  of  viewing  as  the  first. 
Even  the  most  uncultivated  minds  are  affected  by 
the  air  of  comradeship  which  some  star  groups 
exhibit.  Thus  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Beauchamp  relates 
that  the  Onondaga  Indians  have  a  story  that  the 
Pleiades  are  a  group  of  merry  children  who  once, 
with  shouting  and  laughter,  danced  away  into  the 
sky,  and  could  never  find  their  way  back  to  the  earth. 
Scorpio,  with  its  curiously  curved  lines  of  stars,  arrests 
everybody's  attention,  and  with  its  look  of  crawling 
along  just  on  the  verge  of  the  horizon,  it  gives  an 
uncanny  feeling,  for  there  is  hardly  another  constel- 
lation whose  appearance  so  completely  corresponds 
with  its  name. 

Regarded  in  their  broader  relations  and  contrasts, 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

the  stars  as  a  whole  possess  a  marvellous  harmony 
of  effect.  It  is  the  true  music  of  the  spheres,  for  who 
shall  say  that  the  universally  felt  influence  of  the 
star-bedight  heavens  does  not  arise  from  our  in- 
stinctive, but  as  yet  uneducated,  perception  of  a  con- 
cord which  is  not  of  "sweet  sounds,"  but  of  light  and 
color,  whose  range  of  vibrations  in  the  ether  infinitely 
exceeds  that  of  sonant  oscillations  in  the  atmosphere  ? 
It  has  been  half-seriously  suggested  that  man  may 
some  time  develop  a  new  aesthetic  capacity  which  will 
enable  him  to  enjoy  the  choral  effects  of  color,  and 
that  this  lucent  harmony,  or  prismatic  music,  will 
afford  a  more  exquisite  pleasure,  and  a  more  com- 
plete expression  of  the  deeper  emotions,  than  is  now 
offered  by  the  harmonies  of  sound,  based  as  they  are 
on  a  smaller  range  of  sensation,  and  addressed  to  a 
less  perfect  and  comprehensive  sense.  The  music  of 
the  spheres  is  photometric  not  sonometric,  and  the 
canticles  of  the  stars  are  analogous  to  the  wild 
melodies  of  nature.  If  we  choose  to  exercise  our 
fancy  we  may  imagine  that  on  some  planet  more 
advanced  or  more  happily  situated  this  noblest  form 
of  artistic  expression  has  been  fully  developed,  and 
that  there  the  sparkling  heavens  pour  forth  a  soundless 
music  as  yet  unappreciated  by  our  dull  senses. 

Yet,  while  the  declaration  of  Aratus,  that  the 
heavens  from  all  quarters  speak  to  man,  is  universally 
true,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  proportion  of  man- 
kind acquainted  with  the  starry  heavens  and  listen- 
ing to  their  voices  is  smaller  to-day  than  it  was  two 
thousand  years  ago.  As  astronomy  has  become  more 
scientific  in  its  aims  and  methods,  it  has  drifted  almost 
13 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

beyond  the  ken  even  of  educated  people.  It  has  be- 
come a  science  apart,  cultivated  by  a  select  few,  ap- 
pealing occasionally  to  the  sense  of  wonder  in  the  mul- 
titude by  some  striking  discovery,  but  upon  the  whole 
pursuing  its  way  in  solitary  grandeur  along  unfamiliar 
paths,  and  uncomprehended  except  by  experts. 

From  the  popular  point  of  view  this  is  a  great  pity. 
As  the  astronomers,  immersed  in  their  technical 
labors,  have  ceased  to  dwell  upon  the  beauties  and 
wonders  of  the  midnight  sky  which  is  visible  to  every- 
body, the  public,  lacking  an  incentive  and  guidance, 
has  lost  interest  in  the  heavens.  Yet  the  universe 
is  there  for  everybody  to  see,  and  no  observatory, 
no  instruments,  and  no  mathematics  are  needed  to 
enable  any  person  to  enjoy  the  immensely  ennobling 
and  uplifting  pleasure  afforded  by  the  contemplation 
of  the  stars  and  constellations  that  pass  every  night 
over  our  heads.  It  is  only  necessary  to  look. 

The  object  of  this  book,  then,  is  to  recall  busy  men 
to  that  branch  of  astronomy  which  is  within  every- 
body's reach,  which  was  once  the  principal  branch, 
and  the  basis  of  all,  and  which  becomes  only  the  more 
interesting  as  the  scientific  aspects  of  the  subject  are 
developed.  But  with  these  strictly  scientific  aspects 
we  are  here  little  concerned.  Let  us  get  back  to 
astronomy  as  the  first  star-gazers  knew  it,  and  with 
only  the  aid  which  they  had — that  of  their  eyes. 

There  is  nothing  that  possesses  a  more  fascinating 
interest,  outside  the  practical  concerns  of  life,  than 
the  constellations.  Yet  they  have  been  virtually 
banished  from  modern  celestial  charts.  There  is 
nothing  more  beautitul  in  nature,  and  nothing  that 
14 


KNOWING    THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

appeals  more  powerfully  to  the  imagination,  than  the 
fifteen  or  twenty  great  stars  that  from  time  imme- 
morial have  borne  individual  names;  yet  modern 
books  on  astronomy  seldom  take  any  trouble  to 
enable  their  readers  to  recognize  and  know  them. 
There  is  nothing  more  captivating  to  thought  than 
the  planets — Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  Saturn  —  those 
mysterious  worlds  that  circle  with  us  around  the  sun ; 
yet,  outside  a  few  observatories,  who  ever  watches 
them,  who  knows  even  where  to  look  for  them? 

It  is  quite  time  that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to 
correct  so  lamentable  a  state  of  affairs.  I  have  been 
simply  amazed  by  information  which  has  recently 
come  to  me  of  the  manner  in  which  astronomy  is 
regarded  in  our  institutions  of  learning.  More  and 
more  it  is  neglected.  The  public  schools  do  not 
teach  the  constellations,  do  not  tell  their  pupils 
where,  or  when,  they  should  look  for  Sirius,  or 
Aldebaran,  or  Arcturus,  or  at  what  time  they  can  see 
"  Bootes  leading  his  hunting-dogs  over  the  zenith  in 
their  leash  of  sidereal  fire."  To  the  vast  majority, 
to  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  every  thou- 
sand, all  these  names  are  mere  Greek.  The  colleges 
and  universities  teach  their  students  nothing  pertain- 
ing to  the  great  universe  beyond  the  earth,  except  a  few 
mathematical  formuke,  forgotten  as  soon  as  learned. 
Possibly  this  is  unavoidable,  in  view  of  the  constant 
encroachment  of  the  trade-school  spirit,  but  it  is  not 
irremediable.  As  long  as  men  have  eyes  to  see  and 
minds  to  think,  it  needs  but  a  word,  a  hint,  a  glance, 
to  turn  them  with  rapt  and  ever  increasing  attention 
to  the  wonders  overhead. 


II 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN  JANUARY 

The  meridian  is  an  imaginary  line  traversing  the  sky  from 
north  to  south  and  passing  through  the  pole  of  the  heavens 
(near  the  pole-star),  and  through  the  zenith,  the  point  exactly 
over  the  observer's  head.  When  a  star  crosses  the  meridian  it  is 
equidistant  from  its  rising  and  setting  points  and  is  said  to 
culminate.  At  noon  the  sun  is  on  the  meridian.  The  starry 
sphere  (regarding  the  heavens  as  the  shell  of  a  hollow  globe  seen 
from  the  centre)  has  two  apparent  revolutions,  one  diurnal, 
caused  by  the  earth's  rotation  on  its  axis,  and  the  other  annual, 
caused  by  the  earth's  revolution  around  the  sun.  In  consequence 
of  the  annual  revolution  of  the  heavens  the  constellations  seem 
to  advance  slowly  from  the  east,  new  ones  appearing  above  the 
eastern  horizon  each  month,  while  old  ones  disappear  behind 
the  western  horizon.  Thus  those  that  occupy  a  place  on  the 
meridian  at  any  given  hour  are  not  the  same  from  month  to 
month.  In  this  book  the  constellations  are  described  in  the 
order  of  their  arrival  on  the  meridian  month  after  month,  at  about 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in  the  middle  of  the  month.  Only 
those  lying  between  the  north  pole  and  the  southern  horizon  are 
described,  as  those  situated  below  the  pole  may  usually  be  better 
seen  at  another  time. 

Auriga 

(CHART  V) 

IF  you  go  out-of-doors  at  nine  o'clock  on  a  clear 
evening   in   the   middle   of  January  you   will    see 
overhead,  and  not  far  from  the  zenith,  if  your  lati- 
16 


5O  10  CTX 


it 
8^ 


fl         "* 

r  *">  " 


'G  N*  TJ 


290     CT.W    40 


•* 


Chart  I 


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m          CT.J 

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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

tude  is  near  that  of  New  York,  a  brilliant  white  star, 
of  the  first  magnitude,  and  of  remarkable  beauty. 
It  is  the  star  celebrated  in  fable  from  remote  antiquity 
under  the  name  of  Capella  (a  Aurigas).  At  its  great 
elevation,  so  near  the  centre  of  the  starry  dome,  its 
light  falls  through  an  atmosphere  so  steady  that  it 
shows  hardly  a  twinkle.  Once  in  a  while  a  lazy 
ripple  seems  to  pass  on  the  surface  of  the  atmospheric 
ocean,  the  star  flashes  like  a  tipped  mirror,  and  then 
immediately  resumes  its  quiet  beaming.  The  name 
Capella,  as  Mr.  Allen  says  in  his  exhaustive  work 
on  Star  Names  and  Their  Meanings,  signifies  "the 
little  She-goat."  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  many 
widely  separated  parts  of  the  earth,  and  in  widely 
separated  times,  Capella  has  borne  this  designation. 
Not  only  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  called  it  the 
Kid,  but  the  ancient  Peruvians,  who  knew  nothing 
of  European  or  Asiatic  mythology,  had  a  similar 
name  for  it  in  their  language,  Colca,  and  they  con- 
nected it  with  the  affairs  of  shepherds.  For  them 
instead  of  shining  overhead  it  appeared  far  down  in 
the  north;  but  remembering  that  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  summer  corresponds  with  our  winter,  it 
is  evident  that  the  time  of  Capella' s  culmination  cor- 
responded with  the  season  when  the  shepherds  would 
be  watching  their  flocks. 

Modern  research  has  proved  that  Capella  is  a  star 
of  immense  actual  magnitude,  exceeding  our  sun  in 
brightness,  according  to  Professor  Newcomb,  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  times.  It  belongs  to  that 
very  strange  class  of  stars  known  as  spectroscopic 
binaries,  which  term  means  that  they  consist  each  of 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

two  stars  so  close  together  that  no  telescope  is  able 
to  separate  their  disks,  although  their  duplicate  nature 
is  proved  by  the  periodic  splitting  of  their  spectro- 
scopic  lines  as  they  revolve  swiftly  about  their  com- 
mon centre  of  gravity.  The  period  of  revolution  of 
the  Capella  system  is  one  hundred  and  four  days. 
The  principal  star  almost  exactly  resembles  the  sun 
in  its  spectrum,  while  the  companion  resembles  Pro- 
cyon,  a  star  further  advanced  in  the  order  of  devel- 
opment. 

Capella  is  the  leading  star  of  the  constellation 
Auriga,  the  Charioteer,  or  the  Wagoner,  which  covers 
a  large  space  in  the  sky,  about  40°  from  east  to  west 
and  30°  from  north  to  south,  and  contains  twenty 
stars  from  the  first  to  the  fifth  magnitude  inclusive. 
Auriga  is  a  very  ancient  constellation,  its  origin  being 
lost  in  antique  myths.  It  has  been  represented  for 
ages  under  the  figure  of  "  a  mighty  man  seated  on  the 
Milky  Way,"  and  carrying  a  kid  on  his  left  arm. 
Capella  shines  in  the  heart  of  the  imaginary  kid. 
About  ten  degrees  east  of  Capella  is  the  second- 
magnitude  star,  Menkalina  08).  This  star  marks  the 
right  shoulder,  or  upper  part  of  the  right  arm,  of  the 
Charioteer.  Menkalina,  like  Capella,  is  a  spectro- 
scopic  binary,  but  its  period  is  only  four  days,  the 
spectroscopic  lines  appearing  split  every  alternate 
night.  The  right  foot  of  the  Charioteer  rests  upon 
the  tip  of  the  northern  horn  of  Taurus  the  Bull, 
the  second-magnitude  star,  El  Nath  08  Tauri),  being 
shared  in  common  by  the  two  constellations.  A 
third  -  magnitude  star,  Iota  0),  about  ten  degrees 
northwest  of  El  Nath,  shines  in  the  Charioteer's  left 
18 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

foot.  Three  fourth  -  magnitude  stars,  Epsilon  (e), 
Zeta  (5"),  and  Eta  (17),  which  form  a  little  triangle 
a  few  degrees  southwest  of  Capella,  indicate  the 
left  hand  of  the  Charioteer,  which  supports  the  Kid. 
This  little  starry  triangle  is  a  sort  of  signboard  to 
insure  the  recognition  of  Capella  by  beginners.  A 
third-magnitude  star,  Theta  (0),  about  ten  degrees 
south  of  Menkalina,  with  a  fourth  and  two  fifth- 
magnitude  stars  near  it,  marks  the  Charioteer's  right 
hand,  resting  on  his  right  knee,  and  bearing  a  long 
upright  whipstock,  the  wind-driven  thongs  of  which 
are  represented  by  a  scattered  group  of  half  a  dozen 
fifth-magnitude  stars  with  a  few  of  the  sixth  magnitude 
among  them.  All  of  these  bear  the  name  of  the 
Greek  letter  Psi  (-^),  with  distinguishing  numerals. 
The  head  of  the  Charioteer  bears  a  fourth-magnitude 
star,  Delta  (8),  with  a  fifth,  Xi  (£),  above  it.  The 
Milky  Way  passes  across  the  lower  half  of  Auriga , 
Capella  lying  on  its  northern  edge. 

The  mythological  history  of  Auriga  is  not  very 
clear.  Allen,  who  thinks  that  the  constellation 
originated  among  the  early  star-gazers  of  the  Eu- 
phrates valley,  mentions  a  sculpture  from  Nimroud 
on  which  the  figures  of  the  Charioteer  and  the  Goat 
or  Kid  are  represented  almost  as  they  are  drawn 
to-day.  Sometimes  a  chariot  has  also  been  repre- 
sented here.  By  the  Greeks  Auriga  was  imagined 
to  represent  Erechtheus,  son  of  Hephasstus  and 
Athena,  who  was  fabled  to  have  invented  the  four- 
horse  chariot,  and  to  have  been  rewarded  by  Zeus  with 
a  place  in  the  sky.  The  Romans  followed  this  idea 
of  the  Greeks: 

19 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Close  by  the  Kneeling  Bull  behold 

The  Charioteer,  who  gained  by  skill  of  old 

His  name  and  heaven,  as  first  his  steeds  he  drove 

With  flying  wheels,  seen  and  installed  by  Jove. 

— Manilius. 

Dr.  Joseph  A.  Seiss,  in  his  Gospel  in  the  Stars, 
will  have  it  that  the  Greeks  were  greatly  puzzled 
by  the  constellation  of  Auriga,  not  understanding 
its  origin,  and  that  they  only  preserved  here  a  tra- 
ditional figure  which  had  existed  long  before  their 
time,  and  which  represents  the  Good  Shepherd  who 
was  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the  sheep ;  in  other  words, 
a  symbol  foretelling  the  coming  of  Christ.  In  the 
zodiac  of  Dendera  there  is  a  representation  of  Auriga 
which,  as  Dr.  Seiss  interprets  it,  holds  a  sceptre,  the 
upper  part  showing  the  head  of  a  lamb  and  the  lower 
part  the  form  of  a  cross. 

This  constellation  affords  a  good  field  for  the  opera- 
glass  or  telescope.  The  star  14  is  a  pretty  double  of 
magnitudes  five  and  seven-and-a-half ;  distance  apart, 
14";  colors,  pale  yellow  and  bluish  or  greenish.  The 
star  4  (also  known  as  26i6)  is  a  closer  double;  dis- 
tance, 6" ;  magnitudes,  five  and  nine ;  colors,  pale  red 
(although  some  say  green)  and  light  blue.  The  star 
41  (2  845)  is  double;  magnitudes,  five  and  six;  dis- 
tance, 8".  The  cluster  (2  38)  is  very  beautiful  with  a 
telescope.  A  number  of  its  stars  imitate  roughly  the 
form  of  a  cross.  Several  other  less  brilliant  clusters 
are  scattered  over  this  part  of  the  constellation. 

Camelopardalis 

(CHART     II) 

Between  Auriga  and  the  pole  lies  the  faint,  strag- 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

gling  constellation  of  Camelopardalis.  It  has  no 
legendary  or  mythological  interest,  having  been  un- 
known to  the  ancients.  It  dates  only  from  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  it  was  first  represented 
on  a  chart  by  Jacobus  Bartschius,  the  son-in-law  of 
the  astronomer  Kepler,  who  with  poetic  fancy  saw 
in  its  stars  an  image  of  the  camel  that  bore  Rebecca 
on  her  way  to  join  Isaac.  It  is  always  represented  in 
the  form  of  a  giraffe.  It  has  ten  stars  of  the  fifth 
magnitude  and  two  of  the  fourth. 

Taurus 

(CHART    V) 

South  and  southwest  of  Auriga  we  find  Taurus 
the  Bull,  the  third  constellation  of  the  zodiac,  and 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  in  the  heavens  on  account 
of  its  two  celebrated  clusters,  the  Hyades  and  the 
Pleiades.  The  Hyades  adorn  the  head  of  the  huge 
charging  bull,  who  threatens  Orion  with  his  long 
horns,  while  the  Pleiades  hang  on  his  shoulder,  like 
a  glittering  banderilla.  The  lucida  (the  name  some- 
times given  to  the  brightest  star  of  a  constellation) 
of  Taurus  is  Aldebaran,  a  first-magnitude  star,  of 
extraordinary  beauty  on  account  of  the  pale -rose 
tint  perceptible  in  its  light.  This  is  situated  in  the 
right  eye  of  the  Bull,  and  at  the  top  of  the  eastern 
arm  of  the  capital  letter  V,  which  is  plainly  marked 
out  by  the  stars  forming  the  group  called  the  Hyades. 
This  group  is  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the 
starry  heavens.  With  its  neighboring  cluster  of  the 
Pleiades  it  carries  us  into  the  very  heart  of  myth- 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

ological  romance.  Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful 
than  these  stars  seen  high  in  the  mid-heaven  on  a 
clear,  frosty  winter's  night,  in  the  absence  of  bright 
moonshine,  and  when  there  are  no  powerful  electric 
or  other  lights  near  to  dim  the  vision.  The  gem- 
like  rays  of  Aldebaran  are  splendidly  set  off  by  the 
glitter  of  the  smaller  stars,  which  seem  to  have  been 
arranged  by  the  hand  of  a  bijoutier  to  enhance  the 
splendor  of  the  principal  jewel.  Besides  Aldebaran 
the  group  contains  five  stars  of  the  fourth  magni- 
tude, two  of  them  almost  touching  each  other  in  the 
lower  arm  of  the  letter;  four  of  the  fifth  magnitude, 
and  half  a  dozen  of  the  sixth.  And  all  around  the 
sky  is  rich  with  scattered  gems.  They  have  always 
been  connected  in  the  popular  imagination  with  the 
weather,  and  especially  with  showery  or  rainy  weather, 
the  poets  calling  them  the  "rainy  Hyades,"  the 
"watery  Hyades,"  and  so  on.  Mr.  Allen  remarks 
that  they  are  among  the  few  stellar  objects  mentioned 
by  Homer,  and  Pliny  said  that  they  caused  storms 
and  tempests  on  both  land  and  sea.  This  probably 
originated  in  their  rising  at  the  time  when  stormy 
weather  usually  begins. 

The  letter  V  just  referred  to  has  its  three  cor- 
ners marked  by  Aldebaran,  Epsilon  (e  Tauri),  and 
Gamma  (7  Tauri).  Epsilon  marks  the  top  of  the 
northern  branch  of  the  V,  and  Gamma  its  point. 
About  half-way  between  Epsilon  and  Gamma  are  a 
pair  of  stars,  the  larger,  of  the  fourth  magnitude,  be- 
ing Delta  (B  Tauri.)  Its  companion,  also  sometimes 
called  Delta,  is  of  the  fifth  magnitude,  and  they  form 
an  attractive  combination.  Occupying  a  similar 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

position  in  the  other  branch'  of  the  V,  between 
Aldebaran  and  Gamma,  are  two  fourth-magnitude 
stars,  much  closer  together,  the  Thetas  (9}.  It  re- 
'  quires  a  good  eye  satisfactorily  to  separate  these 
stars,  and  there  is  a  fifth-magnitude  star  near  them 
which  increases  the  beauty  of  the  sight.  A  little 
southeast  of  Aldebaran  the  eye  catches  another  small 
pair,  of  the  fifth  magnitude,  the  Sigmas  (9).  The 
Sigmas  are  only  seven  minutes  of  arc  apart,  less  than 
one-fifth  of  the  apparent  diameter  of  the  moon. 

The  smaller,  fainter,  and  more  compact  group  of 
;  the  Pleiades  is  even  more  famous.  They  shine  in 
poetry  almost  as  they  shine  in  the  sky.  Everybody 
knows  by  heart  Tennyson's  lines  about  them  in 
"  Locksley  Hall,"  as  well  as  the  verse  of  Job  in  which 
their  name  is  so  poetically  woven.  They  are  men- 
tioned in  the  fragments  of  "  Sappho."  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis, 
in  his  Astronomy  of  the  Ancients,  says  that  their 
name  evidently  comes  from  the  Greek  word  plem,  to 
sail,  because  their  rising  was  synchronous  with  the 
opening  of  the  season  of  navigation  in  the  Greek  seas. 
They  comprise  one  star  (Alcyone),  of  the  third  mag- 
nitude; one  (Maia)  of  the  fourth;  four  (Atlas,  Electra, 
Merope,  and  Taygeta)  of  the  fifth,  or  near  the  fifth; 
and  one  (Celasno)  of  rather  less  than  the  sixth,  so 
that  only  a  sharp  eye  can  see  it.  This  is  usually 
called  the  "Lost  Pleiad,"  but  that  name  has  also 
been  applied  to  Pleione,  another  member  of  the 
group  too  faint  for  ordinary  vision.  There  is  also  a 
double,  Asterope,  which  lies  a  little  below  the  limit 
of  ordinary  eyesight.  Alcyone,  the  lucida,  is  famous 
as  the  supposed  centre  of  revolution  of  the  starry 
23 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

heavens,  which  the  German  astronomer  Madler  im- 
agined that  he  had  detected.  Astronomy  knows  no 
such  centre  of  revolution,  if  any  exists. 

Within  recent  years  marvellous  photographs  of  the 
Pleiades  have  been  made,  showing  this  group  of  stars 
to  be  embedded  in  a  wonderful  mass  of  nebulous  mat- 
ter, the  most  singular  in  aspect  of  any  in  the  heavens. 

This  wonderful  nebula,  or,  rather,  mass  of  inter- 
twisted nebulae,  is  not  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and 
but  little  of  it  can  be  seen  with  telescopes.  Yet  the 
strange  fact  exists  that  every  observe*-  seems  to  feel 
that  there  is  something  else  in  the  Pleiades  besides 
the  star  rays.  It  is  a  kind  of  glimmer  which  is  not 
starlight — or,  at  least,  does  not  impress  the  eye  as 
starlight,  but  rather  as  an  indefinite,  misty  luminos- 
ity forming  a  background  against  which  the  stars  ap- 
pear. The  descriptive  truth  of  Tennyson's  line  about 
the  Pleiades,  when  he  says  that  they 

Glitter  like  a  swarm  of  fireflies  tangled  in  a  silver  braid, 

impresses  everybody  who  has  ever  seen  them.  The 
meaning  of  this  intermingling  of  stars  and  nebulous 
matter  may  be  that  the  Pleiades  are  a  group  of  suns 
in  which  the  formative  process  is  but  partially  com- 
pleted, a  large  part  of  the  original  chaotic  matter 
remaining  still  uncombined  and  uncondensed. 

Besides  the  two  great  clusters  just  described,  Taurus 
contains  a  number  of  notable  stars.  El  Nath  or  Beta 
(/3)  Tauri  has  already  been  mentioned  as  common  to 
Taurus  and  Auriga,  since  it  indicates  the  place  where 
the  foot  of  the  latter  rests  upon  the  tip  of  the  Bull's 
24 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

horn.  El  Nath  is  of  the  second  magnitude,  and 
appears  singularly  beautiful  when  carefully  observed, 
on  account  of  its  pure  whiteness.  Many  other  ap- 
parently white  stars  are  seen  to  be  slightly  colored 
when  compared  with  El  Nath.  About  nine  degrees 
below  El  Nath,  in  the  direction  of  Orion,  is  a  third- 
magnitude  star,  Zeta  (£)  Tauri,  marking  the  tip  of 
the  southern  horn.  Between  the  two  horns,  and 
in  the  top  of  the  head,  are  four  or  five  fourth  and 
fifth  magnitude  stars,  and  several  of  the  sixth  mag- 
nitude, which  impart  a  glimmering  beauty  to  the 
scene,  and  justify  Virgil's  epithet  of  the  "golden 
horns"  of  Taurus.  The  body  of  the  Bull  ends  ab- 
ruptly just  west  of  the  Pleiades,  and  the  old  myth 
which  represents  Taurus  as  the  bull  into  which  Zeus 
transformed  himself  in  order  to  carry  off  Europa, 
swimming  with  her  through  the  sea,  sufficiently  ac- 
counts for  the  invisibility  of  the  hind  quarters  of  the 
animal,  which  must  be  supposed  immersed  in  the 
waves.  But  his  breast  and  forefeet  are  visible,  and 
contain  several  moderately  bright  stars,  which  may 
be  found  on  the  chart. 

Taurus  contains  one  star  of  the  first  magnitude; 
one  of  the  second;  three  of  the  third;  ten  of  the 
fourth;  twenty-seven  of  the  fifth;  and  a  crowd  of 
the  sixth. 

Taurus  is  rich  with  myths  and  legends.  The 
identification  of  this  constellation  with  the  bull  of 
Europa  has  already  been  mentioned.  It  seems  to 
have  been  regarded  as  a  bull  in  all  of  the  ancient 
Mediterranean  countries,  and  also  in  countries  far 
distant  -from  Europe,  and  the  natal  lands  of  Greek 
25 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

mythology.  The  Indians  of  the  Amazon,  according 
to  some  of  the  early  explorers  in  South  America, 
called  it  the  Ox.  In  Egypt  it  was  identified  with 
Osirus,  the  bull-god,  although  there  is  some  question 
as  to  the  time  when  this  identification  occurred.  It 
may  have  been  subsequent  to  the  Greek  legend. 
But,  at  any  rate,  the  constellation  always  played 
an  important  part  in  the  Egyptian  religious  cere- 
monies connected  with  the  zodiac,  and  there  was  a 
belief  in  Egypt  that  the  human  race  sprang  into 
being  at  a  time  when  the  sun  was  in  Taurus.  It 
seems  also  to  have  been  identified  by  the  Egyptians 
with  Apis,  the  bull-god  of  the  Nile,  and  in  this  form, 
as  Mr.  Allen  suggests,  it  may  have  been  known  before 
the  building  of  the  great  pyramids.  Among  the 
Chinese,  when  white  men  first  visited  them,  this 
constellation  was  known  as  the  White  Tiger,  but 
after  the  Jesuit  Fathers  had  introduced  occidental 
ideas  its  name  in  China  became  the  Golden  Ox.  The 
idea  of  "whiteness"  in  connection  with  Taurus 
seems  to  have  had  a  very  early  origin.  This  prob- 
ably arose  from  the  legend  that  Europa's  bull  was 
snowy  white,  for  the  great  ruler  of  Olympus  could 
not  be  expected  to  turn  himself  into  an  ordinary 
brindle  beast  when  he  was  going  to  carry  on  his  back 
the  beautiful  rival  of  his  queen! 

But  the  myths  pertaining  to  Taurus  centre  par- 
ticularly around  the  two  groups  of  the  Hyades  and 
the  Pleiades.  I  have  mentioned  above  the  charm- 
ing legend  of  the  Onondaga  Indians  concerning  the 
Pleiades.  This  legend  brilliantly  expresses  their  po- 
etic attractiveness,  but  there  are  many  older  ones, 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

found  everywhere  in  the  world,  which  show  that 
the  Pleiades  have  always  impressed  mankind  with 
a  sense  of  mystery.  From  ancient  Egypt  and 
Chaldea  to  the  shores  of  the  Northern  Ocean;  from 
Japan  to  Australia  and  the  island  groups  of  the 
South  Pacific ;  from  the  Great  Lakes  of  North  America 
to  Mexico  and  Peru,  traces  have  been  found  of  a 
strange  worship  of  this  group  of  stars.  They  have 
been  connected  in  a  most  remarkable  manner  with 
legends  of  a  deluge,  and  their  cult  has  often  assumed 
the  form  of  a  festival  of  the  dead,  as  among  the 
Egyptians.  The  Spanish  conquerors  found  in  Mex- 
ico a  tradition  that  the  world  was  once  destroyed 
when  the  Pleiades  culminated  at  midnight.  The 
Japanese  Feast  of  Lanterns  has  been  supposed  by 
some  to  be  a  survival  of  an  ancient  rite  relating  to 
the  Pleiades,  and  commemorating  a  vast  calamity 
which  overwhelmed  the  race  of  man  at  some  period 
in  the  remote  past  when  that  group  of  stars  hap- 
pened to  occupy  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  sky. 
There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  one  of  the  mysterious 
passages  constructed  through  the  heart  of  the  pyra- 
mid of  Cheops  was  intended  to  point  to  the  Pleiades 
at  the  moment  when  they  passed  their  upper  cul- 
mination at  the  hour  of  midnight.  It  has  even  been 
suggested  that  the  Europa  myth,  already  mentioned, 
may  have  originated  in  the  tradition  of  a  connection 
between  the  Pleiades  and  an  apparently  universal 
deluge,  since  it  introduces  the  idea  of  a  flood  of 
waters  through  which  the  Bull  is  struggling  with 
more  than  half  his  body  submerged.  The  Druids 
also  had  a  cult  of  the  Pleiades,  or  at  any  rate  of  the 
27 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

constellation  Taurus,  and,  in  connection  with  this, 
Mr.  Allen  mentions  an  old  Scotch  myth  concerning 
the  Candlemas  Bull,  which  is  said  to  appear  at 
twilight,  rising  in  the  east  and  sailing  across  the  sky. 
But  the  most  definite  of  the  Pleiades  legends  is 
that  which  connects  them  with  the  seven  daughters 
of  Atlas,  the  "Atlantic!  nymphs."  Of  these  Alcyone 
is  the  chief,  and  is  sometimes  called  "the  light  of  the 
Pleiades."  Maia  was  both  the  eldest  and  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  daughters,  although  her  star  is  less 
brilliant  than  that  of  her  great  sister.  Electra  was 
the  mother  of  Dardanos,  the  founder  of  Troy,  and 
the  legend  avers  that  upon  the  destruction  of  that 
city  she  covered  her  face  and  has  never  since  shone 
as  bright  as  before.  Merope  is  also  said  once  to  have 
faded  in  shame  at  the  recollection  of  her  having 
married  a  mortal.  But  in  this  she  was  not  singular 
among  her  immortal  sisters.  Taygeta  was  the  patron 
goddess  of  Sparta,  since  her  son  Lacedaemon  founded 
that  redoubtable  little  state.  The  other  two  sisters 
were  Celaeno  and  Asterope,  both  of  whose  stars  are 
faint,  and  one  of  them,  as  already  mentioned,  double. 
An  eighth  member  of  the  group,  hardly  visible  to  the 
naked  eye,  is  Pleione.  She  was  the  mother  of  the 
seven  sisters  and  her  star  may  be  the  true  "Lost 
Pleiad"  of  the  legend,  rather  than  either  Electra 
or  Merope,  because  modern  spectroscopic  investiga- 
tion has  shown  that  Pleione  bears  evidence  of  a 
temporary  character.  Atlas,  the  father,  also  has  his 
star,  which  shines  a  little  below  Pleione,  but  is 
much  brighter.  On  the  accompanying  little  chart 
the  names  of  the  Pleiades  will  be  found. 
28 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 


TAYGfTA 


PLElOA/f 


Although  their  history  is  as  old  as  that  of  the 
Pleiades,  the  Hyades  have  a  less  extensive  mythology. 
They  also  were  supposed  to  be  daughters  of  Atlas, 
half-sisters  of  the  Pleiades,  their  mother  being  ^Ethra. 
They  are  said  to  have  been  the  nurses  of  the  infant 
Bacchus,  and  Zeus  rewarded  them  with  a  place  in 
the  sky.  Unlike  the  Pleiades,  the  names  of  these 
nymphs  were  never  individually  distinguished  by 
applying  them  to  particular  stars.  The  entire  group 
was  simply  regarded  as  being  composed  of  the 
sisters,  and  the  name  Aldebaran  was  formerly  applied 
to  it  as  a  whole. 

According  to  Dr.  Seiss,  the  modern  exponent  of 
religious  mysticism  among  the  stars,  the  constella- 
tion Taurus  represents  the  fabled  Unicorn,  and  the 
Egyptians,  although  not  appreciating  the  divine 
spirit  of  prophecy  that  guided  them,  called  it  by 
names  signifying  "the  Head,  the  Captain,  the  Mighty 
Chieftain  who  cometh,"  the  real  symbol  being  that  of 
"Christ  as  the  irresistible  and  Angry  Judge."  The 
sister  stars  of  the  Hyades  and  Pleiades,  according 
to  the  same  authority,  "beautifully  symbolize  the 
29 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

saints,  securely  supported  by  the  terrible  Judge,  and 
who,  together  with  the  holy  angels,  whom  thsy  are 
like,  thus  move  with  Him  and  His  inflictions  upon 
a  guilty  world." 

Perhaps  Dr.  Seiss's  interpretation  has  as  much 
foundation  as  the  older  myths,  but  certainly  it  lacks 
their  charm. 

In  a  small  telescope  Alcyone  presents  a  captivat- 
ing sight,  on  account  of  the  presence  of  two  minute 
stars  forming  a  little  triangle  with  it.  Aldebaran, 
remarkable,  as  already  pointed  out,  for  its  pale  ruby 
color,  has  a  distant  tenth-magnitude  companion.  Al- 
debaran is  one  of  the  standard  first-magnitude  stars. 
The  star  Lambda  (\)  is  a  rapid  variable,  changing 
from  about  the  third  to  about  the  fourth  magnitude 
once  in  every  four  days.  About  one  degree  north- 
west of  the  star  Zeta  (£) ,  at  the  tip  of  the  southern 
horn,  is  the  celebrated  "Crab  Nebula,"  which  is  only 
to  be  seen  with  a  very  powerful  telescope.  It  presents 
an  extraordinary  appearance  when  photographed. 

Orion 

(CHARTS  V  AND  IX) 

Southeast  of  Taurus  flashes  the  "Golconda  of  the 
heavens" — the  brilliant  constellation  Orion.  The 
celestial  equator  passes  through  the  centre  of  this 
constellation,  almost  touching  the  northernmost  star 
in  the  Belt.  The  two  great  first-magnitude  stars, 
Betelgeuse  and  Rigel — the  former  something  over 
ten  degrees  above,  and  the  latter  an  equal  distance 
below  the  three  stars  forming  the  Belt — seem  bal- 
anced against  each  other.  Their  splendid  contrast 
30 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

of  color,  and  the  dazzling  beauty  of  the  stars  in  the 
Belt,  which  lie  in  an  almost  true  straight  line,  and 
are  matched  as  perfectly  in  size  and  tint  as  selected 
gems,  impart  to  this  constellation  the  appearance  of 
a  gigantic  piece  of  jewelry.  There  is  nothing  else 
in  all  the  sky  to  equal  it  in  splendor.  The  famous 
Southern  Cross  is  far  inferior  to  Orion  as  a  celes- 
tial spectacle.  The  unparalleled  magnificence  of  the 
constellation  of  Orion  lifts  the  name  of  a  compara- 
tively obscure  hero  of  Grecian  mythology  to  a  prom- 
inence before  which  even  Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  and  the 
other  great  Olympian  gods  and  goddesses  dwindle  to 
relative  insignificance.  Jove  is  fabled  to  have  placed 
Orion  among  the  stars  as  a  reward  of  merit — as  merit 
was  reckoned  in  those  days — but  surely  he  could  never 
have  looked  upon  the  splendid  constellation  which 
he  thus  gave  away,  else  he  would  have  reserved  it 
to  enshrine  his  own  fame.  Orion  is  one  of  the  few 
constellations  visible  from  all  parts  of  the  earth. 

Now,  near  the  twins  behold  Orion  rise. 
His  arms  extended  measure  half  the  skies; 
His  stride  no  less.     Onward  with  steady  face, 
He  treads  the  boundless  realms  of  starry  space; 
On  each  broad  shoulder  a  bright  gem  displayed, 
While  three  obliquely  grace  his  mighty  blade. 
On  his  vast  K  id  three  lesser  stars  are  seen, 
Their  rays  commingled  in  a  silvery  sheen, 
So  far  removed  that  half  their  splendor's  lost. 
Thus  graced  and  armed  he  leads  the  heavenly  host. 

- — Manilius. 

The  traditional  figure  of  Orion  is  that  of  a  Hercules 
standing  with  uplifted  club  to  confront  the  Bull,  who 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

is  charging  down  upon  him  from  the  circle  of  the 
zodiac.  Thrown  over  his  left  arm  like  a  shield  is  a 
lion's  hide,  represented  in  the  sky  by  a  remarkable 
bending  row  of  small  stars.  Betelgeuse  glitters  on 
his  right  shoulder  and  Rigel  on  his  left  foot.  His 
left  shoulder  is  epauletted  with  the  star  Bellatrix, 
not  so  bright  as  the  other  two,  but  still  a  beauty. 
It  is  sometimes  called  the  Amazon  Star.  These  three 
are  the  leaders  of  the  constellation,  Betelgeuse  being 
honored  with  the  name  Alpha  (a),  while  Rigel  is 
Beta  (/8),  and  Bellatrix  is  Gamma  (7).  Both  Rigel 
and  Betelgeuse  are  above  the  standard  first  magni- 
tude, and  approach  the  zero  magnitude  mentioned 
in  Chapter  I.  Rigel  is  ordinarily  the  brighter,  al- 
though it  ranks  in  nomenclature  below  its  rival. 
Betelgeuse  is  irregularly  variable,  and  probably  the 
first  letter  of  the  alphabet  was  assigned  to  it  at  a 
time  when  it  was  in  one  of  its  brilliant  moods.  It 
attained  a  great  degree  of  splendor  in  1894.  Since 
then  it  has  been  fainter  than  Rigel,  but  now  (1908) 
it  is  brighter.  In  1852  it  was  so  brilliant  that  it  was 
reckoned  the  brightest  star  north  of  the  equator, 
brighter  than  either  Capella,  Vega,  or  Arcturus.  Its 
color  is  remarkable,  a  rich  topaz  hue,  especially  when 
viewed  with  a  glass.  The  color  appears  to  vary  with 
the  brightness,  the  tone  becoming  deeper  as  the  star 
grows  fainter.  This  would  indicate  that  it  is  enter- 
ing upon  the  earlier  stages  of  extinction.  At  present 
it  must  be  a  sun  of  prodigious  splendor.  It  is  so 
distant  that  its  parallax  has  not  been  certainly  ascer- 
tained, and  from  this  it  follows  that  it  exceeds  our 
sun  in  intrinsic  brilliance  probably  thousands  of  times, 
32 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

because  the  sun  at  its  distance  would  be  invisible. 
The  name  Betelgeuse  is  derived  from  the  Arabic, 
and  means  "The  Armpit  of  the  Central  One." 

Rigel,  which  generally  appears  a  little  brighter  than 
Betelgeuse,  is  an  equally  distant  and  equally  great 
sun,  possessing,  according  to  Professor  Newcomb, 
possibly  ten  thousand  times  the  intrinsic  brightness 
of  our  sun.  Its  color  is  invariably  brilliant  white  with 
a  tinge  of  blue,  the  color  of  a  diamond  of  the  first 
quality.  If  Betelgeuse  is  a  sun  falling  into  decrepi- 
tude Rigel  is  one  enjoying  the  heyday  of  solar  youth. 

Bellatrix  is  of  the  standard  second  magnitude  and 
of  a  yellowish  color.  It  is  often  called  Mirzam,  a 
name,  as  we  shall  see,  applied  to  one  or  two  other 
stars.  Even  Betelgeuse  was  sometimes  called  Mirzam 
by  the  Arabs,  the  word  meaning  Announcer  or  Herald. 

The  three  stars  in  the  Belt,  which  is  about  three 
degrees  in  length,  and  which  adds  so  strikingly  to 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  constellation,  are  named, 
respectively,  beginning  with  the  northernmost,  Min- 
taka,  Alnilam,  and  Alnita.  Their  Greek  letter  desig- 
nations, in  the  same  order,  are  Delta  (8),  Epsilon  (e), 
and  Zeta  (£).  The  first  two  are  white,  the  third 
slightly  yellowish.  In  the  right  knee  is  a  star  of 
near  the  third  magnitude  called  Saiph,  or  Eta  (77). 
Saiph,  Rigel,  Bellatrix,  and  Betelgeuse  mark  the 
corners  of  an  irregular  parallelogram,  about  eighteen 
degrees  in  its  greatest  length,  and  having  the  Belt 
in  its  centre. 

Below  the  Belt  hangs  the  Sword  made  conspicuous 
by  a  short  row  of  stars  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  mag- 
nitudes, the  lowermost  of  which,  Iota  (t),  is  rather 
33 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

brighter  than  fourth  magnitude.  The  middle  star, 
Theta  (0),  is  involved  in  misty  light.  This  light 
comes  from  the  celebrated  Great  Nebula  of  Orion, 
one  of  the  most  astonishing  objects  in  the  firmament 
of  heaven.  A  good  opera-glass  shows  this  nebula, 
and  in  a  telescope  its  appearance  is  wonderful  beyond 
description.  A  third-magnitude  star,  Eta  (77),  below 
Mintaka,  and  making  a  right  angle  with  the  line  of 
the  Belt,  indicates  the  handle  of  the  Sword. 

The  Head  of  Orion  is  represented  by  a  group  of 
stars,  somewhat  crowded  in  appearance,  the  principal 
member  of  which  is  Lambda  (X),  of  the  third  magni- 
tude. The  Arabs  called  the  head  of  Orion  Al  Hakah, 
meaning  a  White  Spot.  Its  glimmering  aspect  may 
be  thought  to  justify  this  designation.  Mr.  Jules  A. 
Colas  has  called  attention  to  the  curious  fact  that 
the  full  moon  could  be  inserted  in  the  little  triangle 
of  stars  constituting  the  head  of  Orion.  This  is  an 
instructive  example  of  the  exaggerated  impression 
of  size  that  the  moon  makes  upon  the  eyes  of  persons 
unaccustomed  to  astronomical  observation,  for  few 
could  be  found  willing  to  believe  that  its  disk  would 
not  cover  a  far  greater  space.  The  uplifted  Club  of 
Orion,  and  his  right  hand  which  holds  it,  contain 
five  fifth  -  magnitude  stars  and  several  of  the  sixth 
magnitude.  The  upper  end  of  the  Club  is  almost  on 
a  level  with  the  point  of  the  southern  horn  of  Taurus. 

The  Lion's  Hide  which  Orion  bears  on  his  left  arm, 
like  a  shield,  contains  four  stars  of  the  fourth  magni- 
tude, two  of  the  fifth,  and  about  ten  of  the  sixth, 
which  impart  to  it  a  curious  glimmer. 

Orion  contains  altogether  two  stars  of  the  first 
34 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

magnitude  (really  brighter  than  first  magnitude) ; 
four  of  the  second;  four  of  the  third;  three  of  the 
fourth ;  twenty-four  of  the  fifth ;  and  a  great  number 
of  the  sixth.  According  to  Burritt,  there  are  seventy- 
eight  stars  visible  to  the  unaided  vision,  but  most 
eyes  do  not  distinctly  discern  so  many.  An  opera- 
glass  reveals  many  hundreds. 

As  already  indicated,  Orion  is  of  great  mythological 
fame.  A  far  more  brilliant  constellation  has  been 
assigned  to  him  than  to  the  great  hero  Herakles, 
or  Hercules,  yet  he  plays  comparatively  an  incon- 
spicuous and  uncertain  part  in  the  old  myths.  He 
is  generally  regarded  as  a  mighty  hunter  of  gigantic 
stature,  so  tall  that  he  could  wade  the  sea.  Some 
say  he  was  the  son  of  the  Amazonian  queen  Euryale 
and  Neptune,  and  boasted  that  the  mightiest  beasts 
of  the  earth  could  not  successfully  strive  with  him. 
Then  a  scorpion  bit  him,  and  when  he  died  of  the 
wound  the  gods  placed  him  among  the  stars.  Ac- 
cording to  another  story,  he  was  born,  like  Athena, 
without  a  mother,  and  became  so  famous  as  a  worker 
in  iron  that  Vulcan  employed  him  to  build  a  palace 
under  the  sea.  Still  another  legend  avers  that  he 
offered  violence  to  the  daughter  of  (Enopion,  King 
of  Chios,  who  thereupon  put  out  his  eyes  when  he 
was  asleep.  But  Vulcan,  remembering  his  services, 
sent  him  a  guide  to  lead  him  to  a  place  where  he 
could  confront  the  rising  sun,  and  its  rays  restored 
his  sight.  According  to  some,  Orion  had  one  of  his 
own  forgemen  carry  him  on  his  back  to  meet  the  sun. 
It  is  also  said  that  Diana  fell  in  love  with  him,  thereby 
arousing  the  jealousy  of  Apollo,  who  persuaded  the 
35 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

goddess  to  a  trial  of  skill  at  archer)-.  Diana  aimed 
a  shaft  at  an  object  in  the  sea  and  pierced  it.  It 
was  the  head  of  Orion,  who  was  amusing  himself  by 
wading  far  from  shore.  Having  killed  him  with  her 
arrow,  Diana  had  him  transported  to  the  heavens, 
and  made  him  outshine  all  his  rivals  there.  We  may 
smile  at  these  legends,  yet  as  products  of  the  human 
imagination  they  cannot  but  interest  us  when  we  see 
them  perpetuated  among  the  stars.  But  for  his 
constellation  Orion  would  never  have  been  remem- 
bered; now  he  has  a  monument  more  lasting  than 
the  pyramids. 

Among  the  Arabs  the  constellation  Orion  was 
known  as  Al  Jauzah,  a  term  of  uncertain  significa- 
tion. The  translation  "Giant,"  Mr.  Allen  thinks, 
is  incorrect.  The  Egyptians  said  that  the  soul  of 
Osiris  rested  in  Orion.  Among  the  Jews,  Orion  was 
the  great  hunter  Nimrod.  The  ancient  Hindoos 
said  that  he  abased  his  own  daughter,  the  rosy 
Aldebaran,  whereupon  Sirius  transfixed  him  with 
an  arrow,  represented  by  the  three  stars  of  the  Belt. 
In  English  popular  lore  the  Belt  is  called  the  "Yard 
and  Ell."  The  Chinese  knew  Orion  under  the  name 
of  Shen.  For  Dr.  Seiss,  and  his  Gospel  in  the  Stars, 
Orion  stands  as  a  prophetic  representation  of  the  great 
"enemy  and  destroyer  of  death,"  and  all  the  ancient 
myths  are  rehandled  to  accord  with  this  interpretation. 

In  telescopic  objects  Orion  is  wonderfully  rich.  Most 
famous  of  its  double  stars  is  Rigel.  The  companion 
may  be  seen  with  a  three-inch  telescope.  Its  dis- 
tance is  9.5";  color,  deep  blue;  magnitude,  eight — - 
a  most  beautiful  object.  Alnita  (£)  in  the  Belt  is 
36 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

triple;  magnitudes,  second,  sixth,  and  tenth;  dis- 
tances, 2.5"  and  56";  colors,  yellowish  white,  grayish 
purple,  pale  blue.  Delta  (8)  in  the  Belt  is  double; 
magnitudes,  second  and  seventh;  distance,  53"; 
colors,  white  and  greenish  white.  Sigma  (9)  is 
multiple,  the  telescope  showing  eight  or  ten  stars 
varying  from  the  fourth  to  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
magnitudes,  and  exhibiting  divers  tints,  one  star  of 
the  seventh  magnitude  being  described  as  "grape- 
red."  Theta  (0)  in  the  Sword  is  quadruple,  and  the 
telescope  shows  it  surrounded  with  the  Great  Nebula, 
a  true  wonder-cloud  which  can  be  very  well  seen  with 
a  three -inch  telescope.  Lambda  in  the  Head  is 
double;  magnitudes,  three-and-a-half  and  sixth;  dis- 
tance 4" ;  colors,  light  yellow  and  reddish.  Orion  also 
contains  many  doubles  which  are  not  visible,  or  not 
easily  visible,  as  single  stars  to  the  naked  eye.  The 
whole  constellation  is  enveloped  in  a  gigantic  nebula, 
traces  of  which  may  be  seen  with  powerful  telescopes, 
but  which  only  reveals  itself  in  its  entirety  in  long- 
posed  photographs. 

Eridanus 

(CHARTS  VIII  AND  IX) 

Directly  west  of  Rigel,  the  starry  river,  Eridanus, 
takes  its  rise.  It  goes  winding  far  westward,  under 
Taurus,  and  finally,  after  meeting  Cetus,  the  Whale, 
turns  abruptly  southward.  Then  making  a  long 
reach  back  eastward,  it  arrives  almost  under  its 
starting-point,  and  at  last  drops  beneath  the  horizon 
of  northern  middle  latitudes.  As  soon  as  the  eye 
has  once  traced  out  the  "river,"  its  resemblance  to 
a  stream  becomes  quite  striking.  The  entire  length 
of  this  river  of  stars  is  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
37 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

thirty  degrees.  It  is  sometimes  divided,  for  con- 
venience of  reference,  into  two  streams,  or  reaches, 
the  northern  stream  reaching  westward  from  Orion 
to  Cetus,  and  the  southern  stream,  which,  as  already 
remarked,  runs  back  nearly  to  the  longitude  of  the 
source.  Many  of  the  stars  of  Eridanus  are  strik- 
ingly arranged  in  pairs.  Far  down  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  invisible  from  latitudes  north  of  32°, 
Eridanus  possesses  a  splendid  star  of  the  first  magni- 
tude named  Achernar.  But  for  us  of  the  northern 
hemisphere  its  brightest  star  is  Cursa,  or  Beta  (£), 
some  three  degrees  northwest  of  Rigel  in  Orion. 
The  name  Cursa,  Mr.  Allen  explains,  comes  from  an 
Arabic  word  signifying  the  footstool,  this  star  being 
regarded  as  a  support  for  the  left  foot  of  Orion,  on 
which  Rigel  blazes  like  a  gem-set  shoe-buckle.  The 
star  Gamma,  also  called  Zaurak,  seems  to  have  been 
connected  with  the  idea  of  a  boat  afloat  in  the  stream. 
Cursa  is  rather  above  the  third  and  Zaurak  a  little 
below  that  magnitude.  The  other  stars  in  the 
northern  stream  specially  worthy  of  note  are  Nu  (v)t 
the  pair  of  the  Omicrons  (o),  Delta  (S),  and  Epsilon 
(e),  which  are  near  together,  Zeta  (£),  and  Eta  (17). 
Nearly  three  hundred  naked-eye  stars  have  been 
catalogued  in  Eridanus,  but  the  ordinary  star-gazer 
will  not  notice  more  than  thirty  or  forty. 

The  scorched  waters  of  Eridanus,  tear-swollen  flood 
Welling  beneath  the  left  foot  of  Orion. 

— Aratus. 

These  lines  of  the  old   Greek  poet  indicate  the 
connection  which  some  of  the  ancients  made  between 
38 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

Eridanus  and  the  story  of  Phaeton,  the  ambitious 
son  of  Phoebus,  who  persuaded  his  father  to  allow 
him  to  drive  for  one  day  the  Chariot  of  the  Sun,  and 
whose  wild  ride  nearly  resulted  in  the  burning  up  of 
the  earth,  when  his  coursers,  feeling  a  feebler  hand 
on  the  reins,  took  the  bits  in  their  teeth  and  ran  away 
with  the  Sun,  leaving  the  track  of  Zodiac,  and  dash- 
ing so  close  to  the  earth  that  it  began  to  smoke. 
Order  was  restored  by  Jove,  who  smote  the  presump- 
tuous youth  with  a  thunderbolt  and  precipitated  him 
into  the  river  Eridanus,  whose  nymphs  "  swelled  the 
flood  with  their  tears,"  shed  in  mourning  over  the 
fate  of  their  unhappy  favorite.  This  story  has  been 
thought  to  contain  the  fading  memory  of  some  season 
of  terrible  drought,  that  brought  famine  and  disaster 
to  the  Mediterranean  lands.  Jove  is  said  to  have 
turned  the  weeping  nymphs  into  poplars,  the  tree 
now  so  abundant  in  the  valley  of  the  Po  (Eridanus), 
and  Ovid  has  commemorated  their  grief  in  these  lines : 

"  All  the  long  night  their  mournful  watch  they  keep, 
.  And  all  the  day  stand  round  the  tomb  and  weep." 

Dr.  Seiss  says  Eridanus  is  the  "  River  of  the  Judge," 
and  refers  to  Daniel's  vision  of  the  four  beasts  that 
were  cast  into  a  fiery  stream. 

The  star  32  Eridani  is  a  superb  double;  magnitudes, 
fifth  and  seventh;  distance,  6.7";  colors,  topaz  and 
ultra -marine.  The  lower  of  the  Omicrons  (o2)  is 
triple;  magnitudes,  fourth,  tenth,  and  eleventh;  dis- 
tances, 82"  and  2.6".  A  powerful  telescope  is  re- 
quired for  this  object.  The  star  1 2  Eridani  is  a  close 
binary;  magnitudes,  fourth  and  eighth;  distance,  2". 
39 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 
Lepus 

Below  Orion's  feet  the  Hare 

Is  chased  eternally;    behind  him 

Sirius  ever  speeds  as  in  pursuit, 

And  rises  after,  and  eyes  him  as  he  sets. 

— Aratus. 

The  eye  is  led  to  Lepus  by  the  conspicuous  aspect 
of  its  little  quadrangles  and  triangles  of  stars  lying 
just  south  of  Orion.  It  contains  two  stars  of  the 
third  magnitude,  Alpha  (a)  and  Beta  (/3) ;  six  of  the 
fourth,  Mu  (/*),  Epsilon  (e),  Gamma  (y),  Delta  (8), 
Zeta  (£),  and  Eta  (17);  and  ten  of  the  fifth.  Mu  is 
situated  in  the  eye  of  the  animal,  and  Eta  in  the  tail. 
Three  fifth  and  one  sixth  magnitude  stars,  forming 
a  little  quadrangle,  mark  the  ears,  lying  just  below 
Rigel. 

The  lines  already  quoted  from  Aratus  tell  the 
mythological  story  of  Lepus.  The  hare  has  always 
been  a  favorite  victim  of  the  hunter's  skill,  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  no  less  a  favorite  with  Orion. 
The  Great  Dog,  Sirius,  is  Orion's  hound  chasing  the 
Hare.  In  Dr.  Seiss's  gospel  mythology  Lepus  is 
interpreted  as  typifying  the  overthrow  of  the  enemy 
of  mankind,  and  he  remarks  that  in  Persian  and 
Egyptian  zodiacs  the  figure  represented  is  that  of 
a  serpent  trodden  under  the  feet  of  Orion. 

The  star  R  Leporis  is  very  remarkable  for  its  intense 
crimson  color,  which  has  been  compared  with  that 
of  a  drop  of  blood.  It  is  variable,  and  the  color  is 
deepest  when  the  star  is  faintest.  The  star  Kappa 
(K)  is  double ;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  eighth ;  distance, 
40 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JANUARY 

2,5";  colors,  pale  yellow  and  blue.  The  star  Iota  (t) 
shows  in  the  telescope  a  beautiful  tinge  of  green, 
which  is  comparatively  a  rare  color  among  the  stars. 
It  has  an  eleventh -magnitude  companion,  distant 
about  13". 

Columba. 

The  constellation  of  Columba,  the  Dove,  south  of 
Lepus,  has  one  star,  Alpha  (a),  or  Phaet,  of  the  second 
magnitude,  one,  Beta  (/3),  of  the  third,  and  two, 
Epsilon  (e)  and  Gamma  (7),  of  the  fourth.  It  is 
said  to  represent  the  Dove  that  Noah  sent  forth 
from  the  ark.  The  constellation  appears  to  have 
first  been  named  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Norman 
Lockyer,  in  his  Dawn  of  Astronomy,  avers  that 
Phaet  was  particularly  worshipped  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  no  less  than  a  dozen  temples  having  been 
oriented  to  this  star.  Mr.  Allen  records  the  curious 
fact  that  the  Chinese  call  Phaet  Chang  Jin,  the  "Old 
Folks." 


Ill 

CONSTELLATIONS    ON   THE    MERIDIAN    IN   FEBRUARY 

Cants   Major 

(CHART    IX) 

TOOK  directly  towards  the  south  at  nine  o'clock 
L  in  the  evening  in  the  middle  of  February,  and  you 
will  see  the  brightest  of  all  stars — Sirius,  the  Dog 
Star.  It  is  situated  about  sixteen  and  a  half  degrees 
south  of  the  celestial  equator,  and  is  the  leader  of 
the  constellation  Canis  Major,  the  Greater  Dog. 

...  In  his  fell  jaw 

Flames  a  star  above  all  others  with  searing  beams 
Fiercely  burning,  called  by  mortals  Sirius. 

— Aratus. 

The  name  of  this  magnificent  star  has  been  de- 
rived by  some  from  the  Greek  word  setpo?  ("spar- 
kling" or  "scorching";  by  others  from  the  Egyptian 
Osiris;  by  Dupuis  from  the  Celtic  word  Syr.  All 
readers  of  the  Iliad  will  recall  the  passage  in  which 
Achilles  is  likened  to  this  star  as  he  rushes  across 
the  plain  of  Troy  to  encounter  Hector  at  the  gates: 

"  Him  the  old  man  Priam  first  beheld,  as  he  sped  across  the 
plain,  blazing  as  the  star  that  cometh  forth  at  harvest  time, 
42 


-n*,  6-»  67°. 


Chart  II 


Variabiles. 

•       *       •       * 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

and  plain  seen  his  rays  shine  forth  amid  the  host  of  stars  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  the  star  whose  name  men  call 
Orion's  Dog." — Iliad,  bk.  xxii.  (Lang  and  Leaf's  Translation). 

It  is  impossible  to  be  guilty  of  exaggeration  in 
speaking  of  the  splendid  beauty  of  Sirius.  Its  ra- 
diance is  as  indescribable  as  that  of  a  great  diamond- 
As  remarked  in  the  introductory  chapter,  it  stands 
in  a  class  by  itself  as  far  as  magnitude  is  concerned. 
It  has  a  hundred  moods,  according  to  the  state  of 
the  atmosphere.  Sometimes,  when  the  air  is  still, 
the  star  burns  with  a  steady  white  light,  unflickering, 
like  a  core  of  electric  fire;  then,  as  invisible  atmos- 
pheric waves  flow  over  it,  its  rays  spread  and  leap 
and  flutter,  breaking  into  keen  prismatic  darts  that 
almost  cause  the  eye  to  wince.  By  turns  it  flames, 
it  sparkles,  it  glows,  it  blazes,  it  flares,  it  flashes,  it 
contracts  to  a  point  of  intensest  brilliance  or  ex- 
pands into  a  coruscating  spectrum.  There  is  some 
evidence  for  thinking  that  two  thousand  years  ago 
its  prevailing  hue  may  have  been  red.  From  its 
cross -motion  in  space  it  has  been  calculated  that  six 
hundred  centuries  ago  it  was  on  the  eastern  border 
of  the  Milky  Way;  now  it  is  on  the  western  border. 

"  Since  Sirius  crossed  the  Milky  Way 

Full  sixty  thousand  years  have  gone, 
Yet  hour  by  hour  and  day  by  day 
This  tireless  star  speeds  on  and  on. 

"  Methinks  he  must  be  moved  to  mirth 

By  that  droll  tale  of  Genesis, 
Which  says  Creation  had  its  birth 
For  such  a  tiny  world  as  this; 
43 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

To  hear  that  One  who  fashioned  all 
Those  solar  systems  tier  on  tiers, 

Expressed  in  little  Adam's  fall 
The  purpose  of  a  million  spheres! 

On  planets  old,  ere  form  or  place 

Was  lent  to  earth,  may  dwell,  who  knows? 

A  godlike  and  perfected  race 

That  hails  great  Sirius  as  he  goes. 

—E.  W.  Wilcox. 

But  splendid  beyond  comparison  as  he  appears  to 
our  eyes,  Sirius  is  now  known  not  to  be,  by  any 
means,  the  greatest  sun  in  space.  He  owes  his  ap- 
parent primacy  to  his  relative  nearness.  His  dis- 
tance is  only  a  little  over  eight  light-years  (a  light-year 
is  the  distance  that  a  wave  of  light  travels  in  a  twelve- 
month), or,  say,  forty-seven  trillions  of  miles,  and  his 
intrinsic  brilliance  exceeds  that  of  the  sun  only  thirty 
times,  while  such  stars  as  Rigel  and  Betelgeuse  may 
be  thousands  of  times  brighter  than  the  sun.  Sir 
G.  C.  Lewis  remarks  that  the  time  of  Sirius 's  rising 
with  the  sun  was  connected  at  an  early  period,  with 
the  idea  of  intense  summer  heat,  and  Muller  con- 
jectures that  it  was  called  the  Dog  Star  on  account 
of  the  prevalence  of  canine  madness  at  that  season. 
Some  think  that  Sirius  is  identical  with  the  Maz- 
zaroth  of  the  book  of  Job.  Its  midnight  culmina- 
tion, or  passing  of  the  meridian,  was  celebrated  in 
the  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  Four  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  Christian  era  Sirius  rose  just  before  the  sun 
at  the  hottest  season  of  the  year,  whence  the  dies 
canicularia,  or  "dog  days,"  of  the  Romans. 

The  spectrum  of  Sirius  is  typical  of  a  class  known 

44 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

as  (he  Sirian  stars,  which  include,  perhaps,  half  of 
all  that  are  visible,  and  which  are  characterized  by 
a  brilliant  white  color  and  broad  absorption  bands, 
indicating  the  presence  of  enormous  quantities  of 
hydrogen.  They  are  believed  to  represent  a  rela- 
tively early  stage  of  solar  evolution,  so  that  Sirius 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  youthful  giant  among  the  suns. 

After  the  princely  splendor  of  Sirius,  the  other 
stars  of  Canis  Major  seem  insignificant,  and  yet  the 
constellation  when  well  above  the  horizon  presents 
A  striking  appearance.  Sirius  is  in  the  jaw  of  the 
imaginary  dog.  The  second  star  of  the  constellation, 
Beta  (/3),  or  Mirzam,  of  near  the  second  magnitude, 
is  in  one  of  the  uplifted  paws,  towards  Lepus.  Delta 
(8),  also  called  Wezen,  and  Epsilon  (e),  also  called 
Adara,  are  in  the  right  flank,  the  dog  standing  nearly 
upright  on  its  hind  legs.  These  stars  are  of  the  full 
second  magnitude  and  brighter  than  Mirzam.  Zeta 
(5"),  or  Furud,  in  the  right  hind  paw,  is  of  the  third 
magnitude,  as  is  Eta  (77),  or  Aludra,  in  the  tail.  The 
last-named  star  is,  however,  rather  the  brighter  of 
the  two.  There  are  seven  stars  of  the  fourth  magni- 
tude and  fourteen  of  the  fifth,  besides  many  of  the 
sixth.  A  comparatively  empty  space  separates  Sirius 
with  its  group  of  attendants  from  the  more  southern 
stars  of  the  constellation,  so  that  the  latter  seem 
almost  to  form  a  constellation  by  themselves. 

Just  east  and  northeast  of  the  tail  of  the  Dog  is 
a  group  of  fourth  and  fifth  magnitude  stars  which 
mark  the  prow  of  Jason's  Ship  in  the  constellation 
Argo.  But  the  larger  part  of  this  constellation  lies 
too  far,  south  to  be  seen  from  the  mean  latitude  of 
45 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  United  States.  It  will  be  described  in  the  chapter 
on  the  southern  stars.  Its  principal  star,  Canopus, 
ranks  next  to  Sirius  in  brightness,  and  can  be  seen 
from  the  extreme  southern  parts  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  almost  directly  south  of  Sirius,  at  a  distance 
of  about  35°. 

The  mythological  history  of  Canis  Major,  as  already 
indicated,  is  intimately  related  to  that  of  Orion. 
But  the  constellation,  or  at  least  its  principal  star, 
seems  to  have  been  associated  with  the  idea  of  a 
dog  among  ancient  nations  unacquainted  with  the 
myth  of  Orion.  Thus  among  the  Scandinavians  it 
was  regarded  as  the  dog  of  Sigurd.  In  ancient  India 
it  was  called  the  Deerslayer.  Some  of  the  early 
Greek  myths  represented  it  as  the  hound  of  Actaeon, 
and  also  as  one  of  Diana's  hunting  dogs.  Mr.  Allen 
mentions  the  curious  facts  that  an  ivory  disk,  found 
by  Schliemann  in  his  excavations  on  the  site  of  Troy, 
contains  a  representation  of  a  dog  believed  to  be 
Canis  Major,  and  that  an  ancient  Etruscan  figured 
mirror  shows  this  constellation,  together  with  Orion 
and  Lepus,  with  the  neighboring  stars  correctly 
located.  Those  who  find  a  prophecy  of  the  coming 
of  the  reign  of  Christ  in  the  constellations  have  made 
much  of  Canis  Major.  Novidius  called  it  the  Dog 
of  Tobias.  Dr.  Seiss  claims  that  it  represents  the 
Messiah  himself,  "the  Appointed  Prince."  He  has 
a  curious  passage  in  which  he  derives  the  name  Sirius 
from  the  word  Seir,  meaning  "  Prince,"  or  "  Guardian," 
and  then  connects  this  with  "Naz-Seir,"  found  in 
an  Egyptian  zodiac.  Thus  he  arrives  at  the  word 
"  Naz-seir-ene,"  whence  "Nazarene,"  and  lo!  an  ex- 
46 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

planation  of  the  much-discussed  origin  of  the  prophecy 
that  Christ  should  be  called  a  Nazarene! 

In  Egypt  the  Dog  was  regarded  as  the  celestial  fore- 
runner of  the  annual  flood  in  the  Nile,  announcing 
the  coming  of  the  waters  by  rising  just  before  the 
sun.  Mr.  Lockyer  has  found  seven  Egyptian  temples 
which  were  so  oriented  as  to  receive  upon  their 
altars  the  rays  of  Sirius  rising.  In  the  famous  zodiac 
of  Dendera,  Canis  Major  appears  in  the  form  of  a 
cow  carried  in  a  boat.  It  was  also  represented  as  the 
goddess  So  this,  and  bore  likewise  the  names  of  Isis, 
Osiris,  and  Thoth.  As  the  "  Nile  star,"  Sirius  was  wor- 
shipped under  the  name  of  Sihor.  Its  supposed  influ- 
ence in  causing  the  annual  flooding  of  the  river  is  indi- 
cated in  the  zodiac  of  Dendera  by  overflowing  urns. 

Sirius  is  a  famous  double  star.  The  companion,  of 
the  ninth  magnitude,  revolves  around  Sirius  in  a 
period  of  about  forty-nine  years.  The  apparent  dis- 
tance, therefore,  varies.  In  1890  the  two  stars  were  so 
close  that  no  telescope  could  separate  them.  In  1896 
Burnham,  then  at  the  Lick  Observatory,  caught  sight 
of  the  companion  emerging  from  the  overpowering 
rays  of  its  primary,  and  since  then  the  distance  has 
been  slowly  increasing.  In  1905  it  had  become 
about  6".  A  very  singular  fact  is  that  this  com- 
panion, although  ten  thousand  times  less  bright  than 
Sirius,  is  nearly  half  as  massive  as  its  great  neighbor! 
The  star  Mu  (/*)  is  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and 
eighth;  distance,  2". 8;  colors,  white  and  pale  blue. 
About  four  degrees  south  of  Sirius  is  the  star  cluster 
1454,  which  presents  a  beautiful  view  in  the  telescope, 
having  a  red  star  neai*  the  centre,  and  curving  rows 
of  minute  stars  about  it. 

47 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 
Monoceros 

(CHART    IX) 

North  of  Canis  Major  and  the  prow  of  Argo  lies 
Monoceros,  the  Unicorn,  an  inconspicuous  constella- 
tion covering  a  space  40°  long  from  east  to  west.  It 
has  but  four  stars  as  bright  as  the  fourth  magni- 
tude, and  these  are  scattered.  In  addition  there  are 
thirteen  of  the  fifth  magnitude,  five  of  which  appear 
in  the  head,  which  faces  Orion,  with  the  horn  nearly 
touching  his  c'ub.  The  stars  of  this  constellation 
have  not  even  enjoyed  the  honor  of  having  the  letters 
of  the  Greek  alphabet  applied  to  them,  much  less  of 
being  designated  by  special  names.  They  are  only 
indicated  by  numerals.  It  is  a  modern  constellation, 
and  has  no  mythological  history.  It  is  interesting 
for  those  possessing  telescopes  on  account  of  its  many 
small  clusters  of  stars,  and  for  one  beautiful  triple, 
the  star  u,  whose  magnitudes  are  fifth,  sixth,  and 
seventh;  distances,  7". 4  and  2". 7.  The  star  8  is 
double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  seventh;  distance, 
14";  colors,  golden  yellow  and  lilac.  A  little  north- 
east of  8  the  eye  catches  a  faint  glimmering  point 
which  is  expanded  by  a  telescope  into  a  beautiful 
cluster,  No.  1424. 

Cards  Minor 

(CHART    IX) 

Above  Monoceros  shines  Canis  Minor,  the  Lesser 
Dog,  two  of  whose  stars  are  conspicuous,  the  large, 
beautiful,  first-magnitude  brilliant  Procyon,  and  its 
48 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

attendant,  some  five  degrees  northwest,  Beta  (/3), 
or  Gomeisa,  of  the  third  magnitude.  Gomeisa  has 
near  it  two  fifth-magnitude  stars.  Canis  Minor  is 
only  about  fifteen  degrees  in  its  greatest  length,  and 
contains  only  three  fifth-magnitude  stars  in  addition 
to  those  already  mentioned.  It  owes  its  fame  en- 
tirely to  Procyon,  one  of  the  most  interesting  stars 
in  the  heavens.  Its  comparatively  lone  situation 
emphasizes  its  brightness,  and  it  is  rather  nearer  the 
Zero  than  the  First  Magnitude.  Yet  its  light  always 
impresses  me  as  lacking  the  brilliance  that  one  ex- 
pects from  so  large  a  star.  This  may  be  due  to  its 
color,  which  is  yellowish  white.  For  half  a  century, 
from  1844  until  1896,  Procyon  presented  a  curious 
problem  on  account  of  its  slight,  yet  measurable, 
changes  of  position.  These  changes  were  ascribed 
by  their  discoverer,  Bessel,  to  the  presence  of  a  mas- 
sive invisible  companion,  but  the  nineteenth  century 
was  in  its  last  pentad  when  Schaeberle,  at  the  Lick 
Observatory,  for  the  first  time  caught  sight  of  the 
mysterious  attendant.  The  spectrum  of  Procyon 
places  it  between  Sirius  and  the  sun  in  the  order  of 
stellar  evolution.  Procyon  is  in  the  hind  quarter  of 
the  Lesser  Dog,  while  Gomeiza  and  its  two  fifth-mag- 
nitude companions  mark  the  animal's  head.  The 
traditional  figure  of  Canis  Minor  represents  it  as  a 
well-trained  house  or  watch  dog,  in  contrast  with  the 
fierce  aspect  of  Canis  Major  rearing  on  his  hind  legs 
with  Sirius  blazing  in  his  wide-stretched  jaws. 

The  name  Procyon — from  the  Greek  vrpo  and  icvtov, 
means  the  "Dog  Before" — i.e.,  before  Sirius;  for,  on 
account  of  its  greater  northern  declination,  it  rises 
49 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

a  little  ahead  of  Canis  Major.  In  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  it  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  water- 
dog  on  account  of  its  standing  on  the  border  of  the 
Milky  Way,  the  river  of  the  sky.  For  some  reason 
known  only  to  themselves,  astrologers  connect  this 
constellation,  and  particularly  Procyon,  with  good- 
fortune  and  the  possession  of  wealth. 

The  companion  of  Procyon  is  of  the  ninth  magni- 
tude, and  distant  only  4". 46  in  1905,  so  that  but  a 
few  of  the  most  powerful  telescopes  can  show  it. 
The  two  form  a  binary  system  with  a  period  of  revo- 
lution of  about  forty  years.  Their  actual  distance 
apart  is  only  as  great  as  that  between  the  sun  and 
the  planet  Uranus.  A  little  telescopic  star  about 
ten  minutes  of  arc  east  of  Procyon  is  double ;  magni- 
tudes, seventh  and  eighth;  distance,  i".2. 

Gemini 

(CHARTS    V    AND    IX) 

On  the  meridian  northwest  of  Canis  Minor  shine 
the  twins,  Gemini,  the  fourth  constellation  of  the 
zodiac,  Taurus  being  the  third.  The  two  chief 
stars,  Castor  and  Pollux,  are  popularly  supposed  to 
be  equal,  and  often  they  are  both  spoken  of  as  belong- 
ing to  the  first  magnitude.  In  reality  there  is  a 
decided  difference  between  them.  Castor,  bearing  the 
Greek  letter  name  Alpha  (a),  and  +herefore  ranking 
as  the  leading  star  of  the  constellation,  is  about  half- 
way between  the  first  and  second  magnitudes,  while 
Pollux,  Beta  (ft),  is  but  little  less  than  the  first. 
Within  the  last  three  hundred  years  either  Castor 
50 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

has  faded  or  Pollux  has  brightened,  so  that  the  order 
of  their  actual  brightness  has  been  reversed.  There 
is  a  striking  difference  of  color  between  them,  Castor 
being  white  and  Pollux  pale  orange.  From  the  re- 
motest antiquity  these  stars  seem  to  have  impressed 
all  beholders  with  the  idea  of  a  sort  of  fraternal  re- 
lationship. Their  distance  apart,  about  five  degrees, 
is  not  too  great  for  them  to  resemble  a  pair,  signifi- 
cantly placed  with  regard  to  each  other,  and  when 
their  magnitudes  were  equal  this  impression  must 
have  been  yet  stronger. 

The  Twins  stand  with  their  feet  in  the  Milky  Way, 
and  their  heads  in  the  clear  space  northeast  of  its 
borders.  The  eye  readily  notices  two  or  three  rows 
of  stars  crossing  the  constellation,  nearly  parallel 
with  the  line  joining  Castor  and  Pollux.  The  middle 
row  has  a  third  -  magnitude  star  at  each  end,  the 
lower  one,  Delta  (S),  also  called  Wasat,  being  in  the 
right  arm  of  the  twin  named  Pollux,  and  the  upper 
one,  Theta  (6),  in  the  out-stretched  left  hand  of  his 
brother  Castor.  Another  third-magnitude  star,  Ep- 
silon  (e),  in  Castor's  left  thigh,  makes  an  obtuse 
triangle  with  Delta  and  Theta.  The  star  Zeta,  in 
the  right  thigh  of  Pollux,  is  variable,  changing  from 
between  the  third  and  fourth  to  between  the  fourth 
and  fifth  magnitudes.  The  brightest  star  in  the  con- 
stellation, after  the  two  leaders,  is  Gamma  (7),  or 
Almison,  in  the  left  foot  of  Pollux.  Castor's  left 
foot  and  ankle  are  marked  by  the  stars  Eta  (17),  or 
Propus,  and  Mu  (p),  both  of  the  third  magnitude. 

Gemini  has  one  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  two 
of  the  second,  four  of  the  third,  six  of  the  fourth, 
51 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

and  thirteen  of  the  fifth.  Sixth-magnitude  stars  are 
numerous,  four  of  them  making  a  striking  row  be- 
tween Gamma  (7)  and  Lambda  (A,),  which  is  ex- 
tended eastward  beyond  Lambda  by  three  others, 
with  a  fifth-magnitude  one  in  their  string. 

Fair  Leda's  twins,  in  time  to  stars  decreed, 
One  fought  on  foot,  one  curbed  the  fiery  steed. 

— Dry  den's  Virgil. 

The  heroes  Castor  and  Pollux  are  among  the  most 
interesting  figures  in  Greek  mythology,  and  they  so 
fascinated  the  imagination  of  the  Romans  that  they 
adopted  them  as  the  celestial  leaders  of  their  world- 
conquering  armies.  In  the  chase  of  the  Calydonian 
boar,  in  Jason's  Argonautic  expedition  in  search  of 
the  Golden  Fleece,  and  in  many  another  famous 
adventure  of  the  demi-gods  in  Greece,  Castor  and 
Pollux  took  their  part,  and  it  was  inevitable  that 
they  should  finally  be  translated  to  the  stars.  Ac- 
cording to  one  legend,  they  were  the  brothers  of 
Helen,  for  whose  fair  face  "the  topless  towers  of 
Ilium"  were  burned;  according  to  another,  they  were 
the  twin  sons  of  Leda  and  Jupiter.  In  any  event, 
they  were  fighters  without  stint,  and  that  was  enough 
to  insure  their  adoption  at  Rome  as  the  "Great 
White  Brethren,"  whose  appearance  in  the  thick  of 
a  desperate  battle  more  than  once  restored  the  courage 
of  both  generals  and  soldiers. 

By  many  names  men  call  us, 

In  many  lands  we  dwell. 
Well  Samothracia  knows  us, 

Cyrene  knows  us  well. 
52 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

Our  house  in  gay  Tarentum 

Is  hung  each  morn  with  flowers, 
High  o'er  the  masts  of  Syracuse 

Our  marble  portal  towers. 
But  by  the  proud  Eurotas 

Is  our  dear  native  home, 
And  for  the  right  we  come  to  fight 

Before  the  ranks  of  Rome. 

— >Macaulay's  Battle  of  Regillus. 

Visitors  to  Rome  to-day  admire  their  colossal 
figures  in  the  "Dioscuri,"  on  the  Monte  Cavallo. 
One  among  the  many  legends  about  these  heroes  is 
interesting  as  indicating  that  in  very  ancient  times 
the  names  of  Castor  and  Pollux  may  have  been 
applied  to  other  conspicuous  stars,  one  of  which 
(for  instance,  Vega)  rises  when  the  other  (for  instance, 
Aldebaran)  is  setting.  This  story  asserts  that  at  a 
double  wedding-feast  the  brothers  got  into  a  broil 
with  the  bridegrooms  and  killed  them  while  attempt- 
ing to  carry  off  the  two  brides.  But  Castor  was 
mortally  wounded  in  the  fray,  whereupon  Pollux, 
who  possessed  the  gift  of  immortality,  wished  to 
die  also.  Jove  solved  the  difficulty  by  transferring 
them  to  the  sky,  decreeing  that  while  one  shone 
resplendent  the  other  should  pass  the  time  in  the 
nether  world,  and  so  alternately. 

The  Twins  have  from  time  immemorial  been  re- 
garded as  the  sailors'  stars.  There  is  a  curious 
reminder  of  this  in  the  story  of  St.  Paul's  voyage  to 
Rome,  which  was  interrupted  by  the  shipwreck  at 
Malta.  An  Alexandrian  ship,  which  had  wintered 
in  the  isle,  and  whose  sign,  says  St.  Paul,  was  Castor 
53 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

and  Pollux,  carried  the  apostle  on  to  the  Eternal 
City.  St.  Paul's  taking  the  trouble  to  mention  this 
fact  is  characteristic  of  his  interest  in  a  wide  range 
of  things  outside  his  religion.  We  know  that  he  had 
read  the  astronomical  poem  of  Aratus,  for  he  quoted 
a  line  from  it  in  his  celebrated  oration  on  Mars'  Hill 
in  Athens.  Dr.  Seiss  would  persuade  us  that  Gemini 
was  intended  to  represent  the  mystic  union  of  Christ 
and  His  redeemed.  For  the  Jews  they  were  Simeon 
and  Levi.  The  Egyptians  represented  them  as  the 
two  gods  Horus,  the  Elder  and  the  Younger.  They 
have  also  been  called  David  and  Jonathan,  and  even 
Adam  and  Eve.  They  have  likewise  been  connected 
with  the  St.  Elmo's  lamps  of  the  sailors.  Homer's 
"Hymn  to  Castor  and  Pollux"  seems  to  suggest  this 
imagined  connection  between  these  stars  and  the 
mysterious  mast-head  lights: 

When  wintry  tempests  o'er  the  savage  sea 
Are  raging,  and  the  sailors  tremblingly 
Call  on  the  Twins  of  Jove  with  prayer  and  vow, 
Gathered  in  fear  upon  the  lofty  prow, 

.   .   .  they  suddenly  appear, 
On  yellow  wings  rushing  athwart  the  sky, 
And  lull  the  blasts  in  mute  tranquillity. 

— Shelley's  translation. 

The  two  stars  were  regarded  as  twins  among  the 
aborigines  of  the  South  Pacific  islands.  In  Australia 
they  were  called  the  "Young  Men,"  and  among  the 
South  African  Bushmen  the  "Young  Women."  For 
the  Assyrians  and  the  Babylonians,  independent  of 
the  Greek  traditions,  they  were  also  the  Twins. 
54 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    FEBRUARY 

Castor  is  a  celebrated  double-star,  one  of  the  first 
binaries  demonstrated  to  possess  orbital  motion.  The 
magnitudes  are,  approximately,  second  and  third; 
distance  in  1907,  5". 5;  colors,  greenish  white  and 
white.  The  period  of  revolution  is  long,  estimated 
all  the  way  between  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  one 
thousand  years.  Delta  (8)  is  double;  magnitudes, 
third  and  eighth;  distance,  7";  colors,  yellow  and 
purple.  A  couple  of  degrees  northwest  of  the  star 
Eta  (?;)  is  a  beautiful  cluster,  No.  1360,  which  can 
be  seen  as  a  glimmering  mass  with  a  good  opera -glass. 
The  telescope  reveals  it  as  an  astonishing  assemblage 
of  minute  stars  of  various  magnitudes. 


Lynx 

(CHARTS  II,  III,  AND  VI) 

North  of  Gemini,  and  between  the  head  of  Ursa 
Major,  the  Greater  Bear,  and  that  of  Auriga,  lies  the 
very  inconspicuous  constellation  of  the  Lynx.  It 
contains  one  star  of  the  third  magnitude,  one  of  the 
fourth,  and  nine  of  the  fifth.  It  is  a  modern  constel- 
lation, invented  by  Hevelius  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. It  has  sometimes  been  called  the  Tiger.  Al- 
though so  insignificant  to  the  naked  eye,  it  contains 
a  remarkable  number  of  beautiful  double  and  triple 
stars.  The  most  interesting  of  these  is  the  star  12, 
in  the  eye  of  the  animal.  The  components  are  of  the 
sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  magnitudes;  distances, 
i".4  and  8". 7.  The  star  38,  in  the  extreme  south- 
eastern part  of  the  constellation,  is  a  fine  double; 
55 


SIAIEKOKMALSaitWL, 

ZlQS  HftGElAHS,  CHI*. 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

magnitudes,  fourth  and  seventh ;  distance,  3" ;  colors, 
white  and  lilac. 

North  of  the  Lynx  lies  a  part  of  Camelopardalis 
(already  described),  and  the  tail  of  Draco,  a  constel- 
lation which  will  be  described  later. 


IV 

CONSTELLATIONS    ON   THE    MERIDIAN    IN   MARCH 

Cancer 

(CHARTS  V    AND  VI) 

THE  central  point  in  the  sky  is  now  occupied  by 
the  fifth  constellation  of  the  zodiac,  Cancer,  the 
Crab.  It  is  not  conspicuous,  and  the  line  of  the 
meridian  is  not  brilliant,  although  on  either  side  of 
it  there  are  beautiful  constellations — Auriga,  Gemini, 
and  Canis  Minor  lying  near  on  the  west,  while  Hydra, 
Leo,  and  Ursa  Major  are  approaching  it  from  the 
east. 

The  constellation  Cancer  is  so  inconspicuous  that 
one  wonders  at  its  antiquity,  and  at  the  universal 
recognition  which  it  seems  to  have  had  in  all  ages. 
Its  position  in  the  zodiac  partly  accounts  for  this. 
It  contains  no  star  brighter  than  the  fourth  magni- 
tude, and  only  five  of  them.  Two  of  these  stars, 
Delta  (B)  and  Gamma  (<y),  have  been  famed  from 
ancient  times  under  the  name  of  the  Aselli,  or  Little 
Asses.  Gamma  is  the  Asellus  Borealis,  and  Delta 
the  Asellus  Australis.  Nearly  between  them,  a  little 
to  the  west,  gleams  a  naked-eye  cluster  of  small  stars 
called  Praesepe,  or  the  Manger,  from  which  the  Aselli 
s  57 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

are  supposed  to  feed.     The  Manger  was  a  celebrated 
weather  portent  in  the  days  of  Aratus  and  Homer. 

And  watch  the  Manger.     Like  a  little   mist 

Far  north,  in  Cancer's  territory,  it  floats. 

Its   confines  are  two  faintly  glimmering  stars, 

One  on  the  north,  the  other  on  the  south. 

These  are  two  Asses  that  the  Manger  parts, 

Which  suddenly,  when  all  the  sky  is  clear, 

Sometimes  quite  vanishes,  and  the  two  stars 

Seem  closer  to  have  moved  their  sundered  orbs. 

No  feeble  tempest  then  will  soak  the  leas. 

A  murky  Manger,  with  both  stars 

Unaltered,  is  a  sign  of  rain. 

If  while  the  Northern  Ass  is  dimmed 

By  vaporous  shroud,  he  of  the  South  gleam  radiant, 

Expect  a  south  wind.     Vapor  and  radiance 

Exchanging  stars,  harbinger  Boreas. 

— Aratus' s  Diosemia. 


The  dimming  of  the  Manger  may  truly  portend  a 
change  of  weather,  since  its  stars  are  so  faint  that 
only  their  number  makes  them  noticeable  at  all,  and 
the  least  veil  of  cirrus  at  night  would  hide  them 
before  the  cloud  became  sufficiently  pronounced  to 
reveal  its  presence  to  the  eye.  Historically  the  Man- 
ger is  interesting,  because  it  afforded  to  Galileo  one 
of  his  earliest  telescopic  proofs  of  the  existence  of 
multitudes  of  stars  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  In 
his  Sidereus  Nuntius,  containing  the  original  account 
of  his  discoveries,  he  says :  "  Prassepe  is  not  one  star 
only,  but  a  mass  of  more  than  forty  small  stars.  I 
have  noticed  thirty-six  stars,  besides  the  Aselli,  ar- 
ranged in  the  order  of  the  accompanying  diagram." 
58 


a-760",  (7- +57°. 


m  eo  CT.I  70  no      so  zat      190 


Chart  III 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MARCH 

He  then  gives  the  diagram,  which  is  herewith  repro- 
duced : 


*          * 


***** 
*  *  *  * 

*    *       ir 
*   *    *  **        *   * 


•    .«'•*. 


*  ^      ..    * 

* 

1 

*  * 


*  * 


* 


This  was  a  great  astronomical  discovery  in  his 
day,  but  now  anybody  possessing  a  large  opera-glass 
or  field-glass  can  see  all  that  he  saw,  and  even  yet 
many  persons,  who  have  never  looked  at  the  sky 
with  a  telescope,  may  be  almost  as  much  surprised 
and  delighted  as  Galileo  was.  An  assemblage  of  stars 
like  this,  seen  through  a  glass,  always  produces  a 
vivid  impression  which  can  never  be  forgotten. 

The  former  Astronomer  Royal,  Mr.  Hind,  has 
recorded  another  historic  event  commemorated  by 
the  Manger.  The  most  ancient  scientific  observa- 
tion of  Jupiter  that  is  known  to  us,  he  says,  was 
noted  by  Ptolemy  as  having  occurred  eighty-three 
59 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

years  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  when 
the  planet,  happening  to  pass  over  the  Prassepe 
cluster,  eclipsed  the  star  Delta,  or  the  Asellus  Aus- 
tralis. 

In  English  astronomical  folk-lore  the  Manger  is 
called  the  Beehive,  surely  a  more  descriptive  name 
than  the  other.  There  are  yet  two  more  events  in 
astronomical  history  connected  with  this  constella- 
tion. It  was  in  its  neighborhood  that  the  celebrated 
comet  of  Halley,  the  most  infrequent  in  its  returns, 
and  the  largest  of  all  periodic  comets,  was  first  no- 
ticed in  1531,  and  the  two  supposed  intramercurial 
planets,  which  the  American  astronomer  Watson  im- 
agined that  he  had  discovered  during  the  solar  eclipse 
of  1878,  were  identified  by  Professor  Peters  with  the 
stars  Zeta  (£)  and  Theta  (0).  Formerly  the  summer 
solstitial  point  was  situated  in  Cancer,  although  now 
the  Precession  of  the  Equinoxes  has  carried  it  more 
than  thirty  degrees  towards  the  west,  but  we  still 
speak  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer. 

An  ancient  Greek  myth  avers  that  Cancer  repre- 
sents the  Crab  that  Hera  sent  to  bite  the  foot  of 
Herakles  when  he  was  battling  with  the  Hydra  in 
the  Lernaean  marshes,  but  the  hero  slew  the  Crab  as 
well  as  the  Hydra,  whereupon  the  goddess  induced 
Zeus  to  translate  the  former  to  the  sky.  In  ancient 
Egypt  this  constellation  was  imagined  as  a  Scarabasus, 
and  regarded  as  emblematic  of  immortality.  One 
may  wonder  how  far  the  ghostly  glimmer  of  the 
Praesepe  cluster  contributed  to  this  idea.  The  astro- 
logical significance  of  Cancer  has  generally  been 
malign,  and  Berosus  predicted  that  the  earth  would 
60 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MARCH 

be  drowned  when  all  the  planets  should  assemble  in 
this  constellation.  In  that  case  we  seem  to  have  had 
a  narrow  escape  in  June,  1895,  for  at  that  time  all  of 
the  planets,  except  Neptune,  were  visible  near  the 
Crab.  But  of  course  the  absence  of  Neptune,  as 
god  of  the  sea,  was  fatal  to  the  combination.  There 
could  not  well  be  a  universal  flood  with  him  left  out 
of  the  conspiracy.  Mr.  Allen  says  that  one  of  the 
Chinese  names  for  this  constellation  was  the  Red 
Bird,  supposed  to  mark  one  of  the  residences  of  the 
Red  or  Southern  Emperor.  Praesepe  has  been  re- 
garded as  representing  the  Manger  in  which  Christ 
was  born.  The  Jews  referred  the  constellation  to 
Issachar.  Dr.  Seiss  likes  the  mystic  idea  of  the 
Egyptians,  only  he  thinks  that  they  were  handling 
a  prophecy  which  they  did  not  understand.  Their 
Scarabseus  was  a  symbol  of  the  Christian  resurrection. 
Zeta  (£)  is  a  celebrated  quadruple  star;  magni- 
tudes, sixth,  seventh,  six-and-a-half,  and  seven-and- 
a-half;  distances,  i".i6,  5",  and  6".i8,  in  1907. 
There  is  a  complicated  set  of  revolutions  effected  by 
these  stars  around  their  several  centres  of  gravity. 
Iota  (t)  is  double;  magnitudes,  four-and-a-half  and 
six-and-a-half;  distance,  30". 

Hydra 

(CHARTS  IX  AND  X) 

Under   Cancer,   and   just   north   of   the   celestial 

equator,  is  a  conspicuous  pentagon  of  stars  marking 

the  head  of  Hydra,  a  very  long  constellation  which 

occupies  four  months  in  crossing  the  meridian,  the 

61 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

tail  arriving  upon  that  line  at  9  P.M.  in  the  middle 
of  June.  But,  upon  the  whole,  it  is  best,  perhaps, 
to  include  the  description  of  this  constellation  in 
the  present  chapter.  The  total  length  of  Hydra, 
about  a  hundred  degrees,  is  less  than  that  of  Eridanus, 
but  it  appears  much  longer  because,  unlike  the  great 
"river,"  it  does  not  turn  back  upon  its  course.  Two 
of  the  stars  in  the  Head  of  this  immense  Sea  Monster, 
Zeta  (£)  and  Epsilon  (e),  are  of  the  third  magnitude, 
one,  Delta  (8),  of  the  fourth,  and  three  of  the  fifth. 
The  lucida  of  the  constellation,  Alpha  (a),  or  Al- 
phard  (also  Cor  Hydrae),  is  of  the  second  magnitude. 
It  is  in  line  with  the  eastern  edge  of  Cancer  and 
below  the  forepaws  of  Leo.  In  its  comparatively 
lone  situation  it  is  fairly  conspicuous,  made  more  so, 
perhaps,  by  its  orange-yellow  color.  From  this  point 
the  constellation,  marked  with  third,  fourth,  and 
fifth  magnitude  stars,  often  arranged  in  striking 
pairs,  winds  eastward  under  Leo,  Sextans,  Crater, 
Corvus,  and  Virgo,  the  tail  ending  near  a  bright  star 
in  the  uplifted  claw  of  Scorpio.  After  the  eye  has 
once  traced  out  the  course  of  Hydra  the  image  of 
a  serpent  is  not  difficult  to  recognize.  Nearly  all  of 
the  bright  stars  of  the  constellation  are  included  in 
the  figure  as  it  is  usually  drawn.  Hydra,  facing 
westward,  seems  to  be  contemplating  an  attack  upon 
Canis  Minor,  just  ahead  of  him,  and  standing  appar- 
ently upon  the  back  of  Monoceros.  It  has  sometimes 
been  called  Draco,  but  that  name  is  reserved  for  the 
great  dragon  that  curls  about  the  northern  pole  of 
the  heavens. 

In  Greek  mythology  this  was  the  Lernaean  monster 
62 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MARCH 

destroyed  by  Herakles.  It  was  fabled  to  have  a 
hundred  heads,  and  those  who  sought  to  destroy  it 
found  that  if  they  cut  off  one,  two  grew  in  its  place 
while  they  were  occupied  with  a  second.  Herakles 
got  over  the  difficulty,  at  the  suggestion  of  lolaus, 
by  searing  the  stumps  with  a  hot  iron  as  fast  as  the 
heads  were  severed — an  excellent  plan  for  other 
Hydras. 

Art  thou  proportioned  to  the  Hydra's  length, 
Who  from  his  wounds  received  augmented  strength? 
He  raised  a  hundred  hissing  heads  in  air; 
When  one  I  lopped  up  sprang  a  dreadful  pair. 

The  Egyptians  at  one  time  regarded  this  constel- 
lation not  as  a  serpent  but  as  the  celestial  counter- 
part of  the  Nile.  It  has  also  been  identified  with  the 
dragon  of  the  Argonautic  expedition,  but  that  is 
generally  regarded  as  being  represented  by  the  Draco 
of  the  North  Polar  region.  Dr.  Seiss  avers  that 
Hydra  stands  for  "the  Great  Dragon,  that  old  Ser- 
pent, called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceived  the 
whole  world"  (see  Revelations  xii.),  and  earlier  con- 
structors of  Biblical  symbols  among  the  stars  re- 
garded this  constellation  as  representing  the  Flood, 
while  Corvus,  the  Raven,  standing  on  its  back,  was 
the  bird  sent  out  by  Noah. 

Epsilon  (e)  is  a  remarkably  beautiful  double ;  mag- 
nitudes, fourth  and  eighth;  distance,  3". 4;  colors, 
yellow  and  blue.  Theta  (6)  is  double;  magnitudes, 
fourth  and  twelfth;  distance,  50". 

Underneath  the  Head  of  Hydra,  extending  down 
to  the  southern  horizon,  is  a  relatively  barren  region, 
63 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

covered  by  a  part  of  the  constellation  Argo  Navis. 
Turning  to  the  region  north  of  Cancer,  near  the  line 
of  the  meridian,  we  find  before  reaching  the  Pole 
Star  only  the  hind  quarters  of  the  Lynx,  the  fore- 
paws  and  head  of  Ursa  Major,  and  the  head  of  Cam- 
elopardalis,  which  have  already  been  described  or  will 
be  described  later. 


V 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON  THE   MERIDIAN   IN   APRIL 

Leo 

(CHART  VI) 

EX3,  the  great  Lion  of  the  sky,  now  reigns  supreme, 
king  of  celestial  as  of  terrestrial  beasts.  Leo  is 
the  sixth  constellation  of  the  zodiac,  and  one  of  the 
most  clearly  marked  on  account  of  the  figure  of  a 
large  sickle,  with  its  handle  downward  and  its  curving 
blade  open  towards  the  west,  which  occupies  the 
western  part  of  the  constellation,  including  the  head 
and  fore  quarters  of  the  Lion.  At  the  end  of  the 
handle  of  this  sickle  glows  the  principal  star  of  the 
constellation,  Regulus,  or  Alpha  (a),  usually  ranked 
as  of  the  first  magnitude,  but  in  reality  of  less  than 
the  standard  brightness.  Still,  Regulus  is  a  conspic- 
uous and  beautiful  star,  and,  lying  very  close  to  the 
ecliptic,  it  is  sometimes  occulted  by  the  moon. 

This  star  has  been  famous  in  all  ages.  Copernicus 
bestowed  upon  it  the  name  it  now  bears,  a  diminu- 
tive form,  says  Mr.  Allen,  of  the  earlier  name  Rex, 
which  arose  from  the  ancient  belief  that  it  ruled  the 
affairs  of  heaven.  In  English  it  has  often  been  called 
the  Royal  Star.  In  Persian  uranography  it  was  one 
65 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

of  four  Royal  Stars,  the  "  Four  Guardians  of  Heaven," 
the  others  of  which  have  been  identified  with  Fomal- 
haut,  Aldebaran,  and  An  tares.  These  marked  the 
four  cardinal  points,  Regulus  standing  for  the  South, 
Fomalhaut  for  the  North,  Aldebaran  for  the  East, 
and  Antares  for  the  West.  As  they  are  about  six 
hours  of  Right  Ascension  apart,  and  all  very  con- 
spicuous, their  selection  for  this  purpose  was  not 
unnatural.  With  the  exception  of  Fomalhaut,  they 
all  lie  quite  close  to  the  ecliptic,  the  annual  path  of 
the  sun. 

Regulus  shines  near  the  heart  of  Leo,  and  accord- 
ingly  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  Lion's  Heart. 
The  second  star  of  the  constellation  lies  far  away 
to  the  east  in  the  end  of  the  tail.     It  is  called  Dene- 
bola,  or  Beta  (/3),  and  is  of  the  second  magnitude. 
Five  other  stars  besides  Regulus  constitute  the  figure 
of  the  sickle  already  spoken  of.     One  of  these,  Ganir 
(7),  Algieba,  is  of  the  second  magnitude;  thre  ,  Eta 
(77),  Zeta  (£),  and  Epsilon  (e),  are  of  the  third 
nitude;    and  one,  Mu   (i>),  of  the  fourth.     G; 
is  a  beautiful  double,  and  is  also  interesting  for 
close  to  the  radiant  point  of  the  great  Novt 
meteor  shower,  which  was  so  brilliant  in  1833 
1866.     These  stars  lie  in  the  mane  and  head  o 
Lion,  Lambda  (X),  a  little  west  of  Epsilon  (e),  1 
in  the  open  jaws.     Regulus,  Gamma,  Denebola; 
Delta  mark  the  corners  of  a  conspicuous  quadril; 
which  covers  the  whole  central  part  of  the  constel- 
lation.   Both  Regulus  and  Denebola,  by  their  spectra, 
belong  to  the  Sirian  order  of  suns — that  is  to  say, 
they  are  younger  than  our  sun. 
66 


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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    APRIL 

Nearly  all  of  the  old  nations  saw  a  lion  in  this  con- 
stellation. According  to  the  Greeks,  it  was  the  cel- 
ebrated Nemaean  Lion  slain  by  Herakles.  In  India 
and  in  Egypt  it  was  always  represented  in  the  zodi- 
acs by  the  figure  of  a  lion.  It  was  associated  with 
the  great  heat  of  summer,  and  Burritt  remarks: 


The  Egyptians  were  much  annoyed  by  lions  during  the 
heat  of  summer,  as  they  at  that  season  left  the  desert  and 
haunted  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  which  had  then  its  greatest 
elevation.  It  was  therefore  natural  for  their  astronomers 
to  place  the  Lion  where  we  find  him  in  their  zodiac. 


The  Lion  was  the  symbol  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  the  constellation  is  found  in  the  Hebrew  zodiac, 
where  it  is  the  twelfth  or  last  sign  instead  of  the 
fifth.  Allen  calls  attention  to  a  remark  of  Land- 
seer  that  the  association  of  Leo  with  Judah  arose 
from  the  fact  that  Leo  was  Judah 's  natal  sign,  and 
as  such  was  borne  on  the  signet  ring  which  he  gave 
to  Tamar.  In  the  Middle  Ages  Leo  was  identified 
with  Daniel's  lion.  Dr.  Seiss  develops  in  detail  the 
connection  of  Leo  with  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and,  referring  to  the  Apocalypse,  he  says  that  "  what 
is  thus  pictured  in  the  last  book  of  the  Scriptures  is 
the  same  that  was  fore-intimated  and  recorded  in 
this  last  sign  of  the  zodiac  before  any  one  book  of 
our  present  Bible  was  written."  As  in  China  every- 
thing goes  by  contraries,  the  Lion  of  the  zodiac  was 
there  regarded  as  a  Horse.  Regulus  has  always  been 
a  fortunate  star  with  the  astrologers,  while  Denebola, 
at  the  other  end  of  the  constellation,  is  an  unfortunate 
67 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

one — a  very  even-handed  distribution  of  powers  for 
one  constellation. 

Regulus  has  at  a  distance  of  three  minutes  of  arc 
a  faint  companion  star  which,  it  has  been  said, 
looks  as  if  it  had  been  steeped  in  indigo,  and  which 
is  double;  magnitudes,  eight-and-a-half  and  thir- 
teenth; distance,  3". 3.  Gamma  is  one  of  the  most 
charming  doubles  in  the  sky;  magnitudes,  second 
and  fourth;  distance,  3". 6;  colors,  orange  and  green. 
These  colors  are  pronounced.  Iota  is  double;  mag- 
nitudes, fourth  and  eighth;  distance,  2". 2;  colors, 
lemon  yellow  and  light  blue.  The  variable  star  R 
is  remarkable.  Its  color  is  deep  red,  and  in  the  space 
of  three  hundred  and  twelve  days  it  changes  from  the 
fifth  magnitude  to  the  tenth,  and  back  again.  Con- 
sequently for  a  part  of  the  time  it  is  entirely  absent 
from  the  sky,  as  far  as  naked-eye  observation  is  con- 
cerned. Being  at  a  maximum  about  January  20, 
1908,  future  periods  of  visibility  of  this  star  may  be 
predicted  from  its  periodic  time. 


Leo  Minor 

(CHARTS  III  AND  VI) 

This  is  a  small  constellation  lying  north  of  Leo  and 
under  the  hind  feet  of  Ursa  Major.  The  Lesser  Lion 
is  inconspicuous  to  the  eye,  and  possesses  no  mythol- 
ogy, having  been  invented  by  Hevelius  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  It  contains  only  three  stars  as  bright 
as  the  fourth  magnitude  and  six  of  the  fifth  magni- 
tude. It  is  almost  equally  uninteresting  for  telescopic 
observation. 

68 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    APRIL 
Ursa  Major 

(CHARTS  I,  III,  AND  VI) 

Directly  north  of  Leo  Minor  is  one  of  the  great 
figures  of  uranography,  and  one  of  the  most  familiar 
to  ordinary  observation  of  all  the  constellations — Ursa 
Major,  the  Greater  Bear.  Indeed,  on  account  of  its 
situation  within  about  forty  degrees  of  the  north  polar- 
star,  Ursa  Major  is  probably  oftener  seen  and  recog- 
nized in  the  heavens  than  any  other  group  of  stars. 
It  is  especially  known  by  the  celebrated  figure  of  the 
Great  Dipper,  formed  by  seven  stars  in  the  flank  and 
tail  of  the  Bear.  In  the  latitude  of  New  York  the 
Great  Dipper  never  sets,  the  star  in  the  extreme  end 
of  the  long  handle  just  skimming  the  horizon  in  the 
evenings  of  November  and  December,  while  in  May 
and  June  it  is  almost  overhead. 

There  is  no  other  figure  among  the  stars  so  well 
marked  as  this,  unless  it  may  be  the  Northern  Cross 
in  Cygnus,  or  the  Northern  Crown.  But  the  Great 
Dipper  is  far  more  conspicuous  than  either  of  these. 
Six  of  its  seven  stars  are  of  the  second  magnitude,  and 
one  of  the  third. 

In  the  middle  of  the  handle  is  a  famous  naked-eye 
double,  Mizar,  whose  companion,  close  by  on  the 
northeast,  is  named  Alcor.  These  stars  are  sometimes 
called  the  Horse  and  Rider.  Any  good  eye  can  easily 
separate  them,  and  yet  they  were  at  one  time  regarded 
as  a  test  of  naked-eye  seeing. 

The  Great  Dipper  has  had  many  names,  among 
them  being  Charles's  Wain,  and  the  Plough,  the  popu- 
69 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

lar  title  in  England.  Mr.  Allen  has  shown  how  the 
name  Charles's  Wain  (meaning  wagon)  is  derived 
from  an  earlier  title  which  made  it  Charlemagne's 
Wain.  The  courtiers  of  King  Charles  I.  of  England 
connected  it  with  his  name: 

.  .  .  those  bright  stars 

Which  English  shepherds  Charles's  Wain  do  name, 
But  more  this  isle  is  Charles's  wain, 
Since  Charles  her  royal  wagoner  became. 

— John  Taylor  (1630). 

The  use  of  this  asterism  as  a  timekeeper  is  vividly 
illustrated  by  Shakespeare  in  the  scene  between  the 
carriers  in  the  inn-yard  at  Rochester,  in  "King  Henry 
IV.,"  Part  L,  Act  II.,  Scene!.: 

Heigh-ho!  an'  it  be  not  four  by  the  day,  I'll  be  hanged: 
Charles's  Wain  is  over  the  new  chimney,  and  yet  our  horse 
is  not  packed! 

In  earlier  England  it  was  called  Arthur's  Wain.  In 
America  the  seven  stars  of  the  Dipper  have  sometimes 
borne  the  pleasing  title  of  the  Seven  Little  Indians, 
and  I  recall  from  boyhood  days,  in  the  Mohawk  Val- 
ley, this  doggerel,  which  was  sung  to  a  childish  air: 

One  little,  two  little,  three  little   Injuns, 
Four  little,  five  little,  six  little  Injuns, 
Seven  little  Injun  boys. 
Seven  little,  six  little,  five  little  Injuns, 
Four  little,  three  little,  two  little  Injuns, 
One  little  Injun  boy. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  Indians  had  any  legend 
about  the  seven  stars,  but  the  Algonquins  called  the 
70 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    APRIL 

whole  constellation  the  Bear  and  Hunters.  The  name 
Plough,  so  popular  in  England,  is  of  classic  origin, 
the  Romans  having  known  the  Dipper  as  the  Triones, 
or  Oxen,  which  were  figured  as  drawing  a  plough. 
These  became  with  later  writers  the  Septentriones, 
as  in  Virgil. 

For  the  people  of  the  far  North,  the  Laplanders,  the 
stars  of  the  Dipper  represent  a  reindeer.  The  name 
Seven  Stars  has  often  been  given  to  the  Pleiades,  but, 
as  Mr.  Allen  remarks,  seems  more  appropriate  when 
applied  to  the  stars  of  the  Dipper,  on  account  of  the 
conspicuousness  of  the  latter.  They  have  been  called, 
variously,  the  Seven  Wise  Men  of  Greece,  the  Seven 
Sleepers  of  Ephesus,  and  the  Seven  Champions  of 
Christendom. 

The  individual  names  of  these  stars,  beginning  with 
the  northwestern  corner  of  the  bowl  of  the  imaginary 
dipper,  are  Dubhe,  Merak,  Phaed,  Megrez  (the  faint 
one),  Alioth,  Mizar  (before  mentioned  with  its  com- 
panion, Alcor),  and  Benetnasch.  Their  Greek  letter 
names,  in  the  same  order,  are  Alpha  (a),  Beta  09), 
Gamma  (7),  Delta  (8),  Epsilon  (e),  Zeta  (?),  and  Eta 
(?/).  Alpha  and  Beta,  the  pair  in  the  outer  side  of 
the  bowl,  are  often  called  the  Pointers,  because  an  im- 
aginary line  drawn  through  them  and  extended  pole- 
wards nearly  hits  the  pole-star  at  a  distance  of  about 
thirty  degrees.  These  seven  stars  differ  in  color,  al- 
though the  fact  may  not  be  apparent  to  hasty  ob- 
servation. Alpha  and  Gamma  are  yellow,  Beta  is 
greenish,  and  Zeta  and  Eta  are  brilliant  white.  Delta, 
now  so  much  fainter  than  its  sisters  that  one  feels  a 
certain  disappointment  over  the  irregularity  which 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

it  introduces  into  an  otherwise  perfect  array  of  equal 
stars,  seems  formerly  to  have  been  as  bright  as  any 
of  them,  and,  in  his  time,  Tycho  Brahe,  the  famous 
Danish  astronomer,  estimated  it  of  the  second  mag- 
nitude, like  the  others.  It  is  probably  a  long-period 
variable. 

The  idea  of  dancing  was  connected  with  Ursa  Major, 
as  well  as  with  the  other  circumpolar  constellations, 
by  the  ancients.  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  says  that  this  was 
derived  from  the  circular  dances  of  the  Greeks.  The 
two  bears  (Ursa  Major  and  Ursa  Minor)  were  imag- 
ined reeling  round  the  pole  like  a  pair  of  waltzers : 

Onward  the  kindred  Bears,  with  footsteps  rude, 
Dance  round  the  pole,  pursuing  and  pursued. 

— E.  Darwin. 

The  mythology  of  Ursa  Major  is  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  Ursa  Minor  (see  Chapter  VII.), 
and  together  they  have  furnished  more  poetic  sug- 
gestions to  the  literature  of  many  nations  than  any 
half-dozen  of  the  other  constellations.  The  ceaseless 
tread  of  the  Bears,  keeping  guard  round  the  north 
pole,  naturally  appeals  to  the  popular  imagination. 
Ursa  Major  was  fabled  to  be  Helice,  or  Callisto,  a 
princess  of  Arcadia,  who,  having  offended  Hera  by 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  ever -amorous  Zeus, 
was  turned  into  a  bear: 

.  .  .  her  hand  within  her  hair  she  wound, 
Swung  her  to  earth  and  dragged  her  on  the  ground. 
The  prostrate  wretch  lifts  up  her  hands  in  prayer; 
Her  arms  grow  shaggy  and  deformed  with  hair, 
72 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    APRIL 

Her  nails  are  sharpened  into  pointed  claws, 
Her  hands  bear  half  her  weight,  and  turn  to  paws, 
Her  lips,  that  once  could  tempt  a  god,  begin 
To  grow  distorted  in  an  ugly  grin. 

— Ovid's  Metamorphoses. 

After  this  painful  tragedy  of  female  jealousy,  Jove, 
with  his  usual  regard  for  his  friends,  translated  poor 
Helice  to  the  sky  and  bestowed  upon  her  the  im- 
mortality of  the  stars.  The  extreme  and  very  un- 
bear-like  length  of  Ursa  Major's  tail  has  always  been 
a  subject  of  pleasantry,  and  Mr.  Allen  quotes  a  quaint 
explanation  suggested  by  Dr.  Thomas  Hood  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century: 

Imagine  that  Jupiter,  fearing  to  come  too  nigh  unto  her 
teeth,  layde  holde  on  her  tayle,  and  thereby  drew  her  up 
into  the  heaven,  so  that  shee  of  herself,  being  very  weightie, 
and  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  heavens  very  great, 
there  was  great  likelihood  that  her  taile  must  stretch. 
Other  reason  know  I  none. 

In  Scandinavia  Ursa  Major  was  Thor's  Wagon,  and 
also  the  Wagon  of  Odin,  Thor's  father.  Among  the 
Hebrews  the  constellation  was  regarded  as  a  bier,  or 
coffin,  and  the  early  Christians  called  it  the  Bier  of 
Lazarus.  In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  regarded  by  some 
as  one  of  the  bears  sent  by  Elisha  the  prophet  to  de- 
vour the  mocking  boys.  Dr.  Seiss  regards  it  as  sym- 
bolical of  the  heavenly  Sheepfold,  and  he  manages  to 
derive  the  name  Callisto  from  a  Semitic  root  meaning 
a  sheepfold,  or  enclosure. 

Ursa  Major  has  six  stars  of  the  second  magnitude ; 
eleven  of  the  third ;  three  of  the  fourth ;  forty  of  the 
6  73 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

fifth,  and  a  great  number  of  the  sixth.     The  three  f 
pairs  in  the  feet  are  conspicuous. 

The  star  Zeta  (£),  or  Mizar,  has  already  been  de- 
scribed as  a  naked -eye  double.  The  larger  star  is 
again  doubled  in  the  telescope,  presenting  a  very 
charming  spectacle;  magnitudes,  second  and  fourth; 
distance,  14". 5 ;  colors,  white  and  emerald.  The  larger 
star  of  this  pair  is  a  close  spectroscopic  binary.  Zeta 
is  also  interesting  as  the  first  telescopic  double  ever 
observed.  Riccioli  detected  its  duplicity  in  1650. 
The  star  Xi  (£),  in  the  right  hind-foot,  is  double; 
magnitudes,  fourth  and  fifth;  distance,  2". 5.  The  star 
Sigma  (er)  is  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  eighth; 
distance,  2 ".6. 

Sextans 

(CHARTS  VI  AND  X) 

Between  Ursa  Major  and  the  north  pole  winds  the  • 
body  of  Draco,  which  will  be  described  in  a  subse-  | 
quent  chapter.  We  turn  now  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  meridian  south  of  Leo.  Directly  underneath  the 
Sickle  of  Leo  is  the  small  constellation  Sextans,  the 
Sextant.  This  is  one  of  the  seventeenth  -  century 
constellations  formed  by  Hevelius  from  star  spaces, 
either  left  out  of  their  constellations  by  the  ancients, 
or  apparently  useless  to  them,  and  consequently  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  "public  land,"  which  the  first 
settler  could  seize.  Hevelius  was  not  unmindful  of 
his  own  glory  in  this  case,  since  he  formed  the  con- 
stellation to  immortalize  the  sextant  used  by  him  in 
his  stellar  observations.  Admiral  Smyth  says  that 
Hevelius  put  the  Sextant  between  Leo  and  Hydra 
74 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    APRIL 

because  those  constellations,  according  to  the  as- 
trologers, were  of  a  fiery  nature,  and  he  wished  to 
commemorate  the  fire  which  destroyed  his  house  and 
his  instruments  at  Dantzic  in  1679.  After  a  couple 
of  thousand  years  this  could  be  transformed  into  as 
good  a  myth  as  any,  Hevelius  becoming  a  demigod 
who  hunted  down  celestial  monsters  and  brought  or- 
der into  the  sky  with  a  terrible  three-bladed  weap- 
on more  fatal  than  the  Club  of  Herakles.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  Von  Rheita  imagined  that  he 
saw  Saint  Veronica's  Sacred  Handkerchief  among  the 
stars  out  of  which  Hevelius  constructed  his  Sextant. 
Sir  John  Herschel,  who  was  not  without  humor  for 
an  astronomer,  remarked  concerning  Von  Rheita's 
sacred  handkerchief  that  many  strange  things  were 
seen  among  the  stars  before  powerful  telescopes  be- 
came common.  Sextans  contains  one  star  of  the 
fourth  magnitude,  and  four  of  the  fifth. 

Crater 

(CHART  X) 

The  constellation  Crater,  the  Cup,  is  represented 
by  an  appropriate  figure  standing  on  the  back  of  the 
immense  sea-serpent  Hydra.  Its  shape  suggests  the 
name  by  which  it  has  been  known  from  time  imme- 
morial. It  is  usually  represented  in  the  form  of  a 
large  urn,  or  beaker,  tipped  towards  the  east.  In 
China  it  seems  to  have  been  figured  as  a  dog.  It 
contains  one  star  of  the  third  magnitude,  Delta  (8), 
four  of  the  fourth,  and  two  of  the  fifth.  The  leading 
75 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

star,  Alpha  (a),  or  Alkes,  is  not  now  the  brightest. 
The  mythology  of  this  constellation  is  more  inter- 
esting than  its  appearance  promises.  The  Greeks 
regarded  it  as  the  Goblet  of  Apollo,  but  Manilius 
ascribes  it  to  Bacchus: 

Close  by  the  Serpent  spreads,  whose  winding  spires 
With  ordered  stars  resemble  scaly  fires. 
Next  flies  the  Crow,  and  next  the  generous  Bowl 
Of  Bacchus  flows,  and  cheers  the  thirsty  pole. 

It  was  also  known  as  the  Cup  of  Herakles,  of  Achil- 
les, of  Dido,  and  of  Medea.  Later  it  was  identified 
with  the  cup  that  Joseph  found  in  Benjamin's  sack, 
and  with  Noah's  wine-cup.  Dr.  Seiss  gives  it  a  tragic 
turn,  and  ominously  calls  it  the  Cup  of  Wrath  of  the 
Revelations:  "Dreadful  beyond  all  thought  is  the 
picture  John  gives  of  this  cup  of  unmingled  and  eter- 
nal wrath,  but  not  a  whit  more  dreadful  than  the 
picture  of  it  which  the  primeval  prophets  have  thus 
inscribed  upon  the  stars." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  good  doctor's  im- 
agination is  vivid,  for  Crater  is  a  very  inoffensive- 
looking  constellation,  much  more  suggestive  of  Bac- 
chus than  of  wrath. 


VI 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN  MAY 

Corvus 

(CHART  X) 

DIRECTLY  east  of  Crater,  and  also  standing  on 
the  back  of  Hydra,  is  Corvus  the  Crow.  Four 
bright  stars,  marking  out  an  irregular  quadrilateral, 
make  this  constellation  conspicuous.  Three  of  these 
stars,  Beta  OS),  Delta  (S),  or  Algorab,  and  Gamma  (7), 
or  Giena,  are  of  the  second  magnitude.  The  fourth, 
Epsilon  (e),  is  of  the  third  magnitude,  while  Alpha 
(a),  or  Al  Chiba,  the  leader  of  the  constellation,  sit- 
uated below  Epsilon,  is  only  of  the  fourth  magnitude. 
It  was  probably  brighter  in  ancient  times,  for  it  bears 
the  name  which  the  Arabs,  according  to  Mr.  Allen, 
gave  to  the  entire  constellation.  A  fifth-magnitude 
star,  Eta  (77),  makes  a  striking  naked-eye  pair  with 
Delta.  Alpha  is  in  the  beak  of  the  bird,  which  is 
represented  pecking  at  the  scales  of  Hydra: 

A  phantom  Crow  that  seems  to  peck  her  spires. 

— Aratus. 

The  ancient  Akkadians  seem  to  have  regarded  this 
constellation  as  representing  a  horse,  but  nearly  all 
77 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  other  ancients  saw  a  bird  there.  With  the  Chinese 
it  was  the  Red  Bird,  with  the  Romans  and  the  He- 
brews the  Raven,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates 
it  may,  according  to  Mr.  Allen's  interpretation  of  an 
ancient  tablet,  have  been  called  the  Great  Storm  Bird, 
or  the  Bird  of  the  Desert,  connected  with  the  myth 
of  Tiamat.  Among  the  Greeks,  Apollo  was  credited 
with  having  placed  this  bird  among  the  stars,  as 
usual  in  such  cases,  for  services  rendered  in  an  amo- 
rous adventure.  Becoming  suspicious  of  the  beautiful 
Coronis,  the  mother  of  ^Esculapius,  the  god  sent  a  crow 
to  watch  her.  The  testimony  of  this  winged  detective 
led  to  the  death  of  Coronis  by  an  avenging  arrow,  and 
to  the  translation  of  the  tell-tale  bird  to  the  sky. 
Corvus  is  Dr.  Seiss's  Bird  of  Doom,  indicating  by  his 
attack  on  Hydra,  the  Fleeing  Serpent,  the  final  over- 
throw of  the  Evil  One. 


Virgo 

(CHARTS  VI  AND  X) 

North  of  Corvus,  but  extending  far  beyond  the 
eastern  limit  of  that  comparatively  small  constella- 
tion, is  Virgo,  the  seventh  constellation  of  the  zodia  :, 
which  contains  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  tl.e 
first-magnitude  stars,  Spica,  or  Alpha  (a)  Virginis. 

No  one  can  familiarize  himself  with  the  stars  with- 
out insensibly  choosing  favorites  among  them.  Spica 
has  long  been  one  of  my  favorites,  not  because  of  ex- 
traordinary brilliancy,  for  it  has  not  the  full  bright- 
ness of  the  first  magnitude,  but  rather  because  of  the 
78 


-90\  ($-+28*. 


HO         50  09       CT.M        OP 


Chart  V 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MAY 

singular  purity  of  its  white  rays,  and  because  of  its 
association  with  the  opening  of  spring.  Its  situation 
in  the  sky  is  also  such  as  to  attract  and  please  the 
eye.  There  is  no  other  star  of  anything  like  equal 
brightness  within  thirty  degrees  of  it.  Spica,  to- 
gether with  Denebola  in  the  Lion's  tail,  Arcturus  in 
Bootes,  and  Cor  Caroli  in  Canes  Venatici,  form  the 
celebrated  "Diamond  of  Virgo,"  a  geometrical  figure 
fifty  degrees  in  its  greatest  length  and  very  striking 
when  once  the  eye  has  traced  it  out.  Historically 
Spica  is  very  interesting,  as  having,  together  with 
Regulus  in  Leo,  furnished  to  Hipparchus  the  data 
which  enabled  him  to  discover  the  Precession  of  the 
Equinoxes.  It  belongs  to  the  first,  or  youngest,  order 
of  suns,  together  with  Sirius,  Rigel,  and  Vega.  Like 
them,  too,  it  is  a  sun  of  enormous  magnitude.  It  is 
one  of  the  spectroscopic  binaries,  the  period  of  revo- 
lution being  only  four  days. 

Virgo,  the  Virgin,  has  been  the  name  of  this  con- 
stellation among  all  peoples  and  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  even  in  China,  where  she  was  called  the 
Frigid  Maiden.  As  generally  drawn  by  the  makers 
of  constellation  figures,  she  carries  a  head  of  wheat  in 
her  left  hand,  and  here  shines  Spica,  a  name  signi- 
fying a  wheat  ear.  She  has  folded  wings  springing 
from  her  shoulders,  the  star  Beta  (/?),  or  Zavijava, 
marking  the  top  of  the  left  wing.  Three  fourth,  one 
fifth,  and  two  sixth  magnitude  stars  indicate  the  head. 
The  star  Eta  (77),  or  Zaniah,  of  the  third  magnitude, 
is  in  the  heart.  Gamma  (7),  or  Porrima,  of  the  third 
magnitude,  shines  on  the  girdle.  Theta  (0),  Zeta  (£), 
and  Delta  (8)  are  spangled  upon  the  drapery.  Theta 
79 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

is  of  the  fourth  and  the  others  of  the  third  magnitude. 
Epsilon  (e),  or  Vindemiatrix,  of  the  third  magnitude, 
shines  in  the  right  wing.  The  name  means  "grape- 
gatherer,"  and  originated  from  the  fact  that  this  star 
was  seen  rising  before  the  morning  sun  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  vintage.  The  stars  Lambda  (\),  Pi  (TT), 
and  Iota  (*)  are  in  the  Virgin's  feet.  There  are  about 
a  dozen  fairly  conspicuous  stars  belonging  to  the  con- 
stellation which  are  not  included  in  the  figure.  Al- 
together Virgo  contains  one  star  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, six  of  the  third,  nine  of  the  fourth,  and  seventeen 
of  the  fifth.  The  sixth-magnitude  stars  are  very  nu- 
merous, a  striking  band  of  them  running  down  the 
middle  of  the  drapery  below  the  girdle  and  above 
Spica. 

Virgo  is  a  mine  of  beautiful  myths.  Mr.  Andrew 
Lang  has  shown  that  the  old  English  "Kern-baby," 
made  up  of  the  last  gleanings  of  the  harvest,  and  es- 
corted with  music  from  the  field,  recalls  the  harvest 
goddess  of  ancient  Peru  and  a  similar  divinity  of 
Sicily,  who  was  identical  with  Persephone,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Demeter,  the  goddess  of  the  corn.  Georgius 
Ca3sius,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  beautifully  imag- 
ined the  classic  Virgo  as  Ruth  gleaning  in  the  fields 
of  Boaz.  Mr.  Allen  recalls  an  old  custom  of  La 
Vendee,  where  the  farmer's  wife,  under  the  name  of 
the  Corn  Mother,  is  tossed  in  a  blanket  at  the  end 
of  the  harvest  to  bring  good-luck  at  the  threshing. 
All  of  these  popular  customs  are  directly  associated 
with  the  myths  concerning  the  constellation  Virgo. 

Hesiod  identified  Virgo  with  Astrasa,  the  Goddess 
of  Justice,  who  ruled  the  world  in  the  Golden  Age.  As 
80 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MAY 

mankind  passed  in  succession  through  the  Silver  and 
the  Bronze  ages  to  the  terrible  Age  of  Iron,  all  the 
gods  and  goddesses  one  by  one  quitted  the  earth,  but 
Astraa  lingered  until  the  last.  When  she  could  no 
longer  endure  the  brutal  scenes  and  passions  dis- 
played around  her,  "loathing  that  race  of  men,"  she 

Winged  her  flight  to  heaven, 
Where  still  by  night  is  seen 
The  Virgin  goddess  near  to  bright  Bootes. 

— Aratus. 

The  Romans  had  an  equally  exalted  opinion  of  the 
character  of  Virgo: 

But  modest  Virgo's  rays  give  polisht  parts, 
And  fill  men's  breasts  with  honesty  and  arts; 
No  tricks  for  gain,  nor  love  of  wealth  dispense, 
But  piercing  thoughts  and  winning  eloquence. 

— Manilius. 

Another  Greek  legend  associated  Virgo  with  Erig- 
one,  the  unfortunate  daughter  of  Icarius,  the  Athe- 
nian who  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  the  god  Bacchus. 
The  god  fell  in  love  with  Erigone,  but  this  honor — • 
which  was  not,  to  be  sure,  a  very  singular  one — did  not 
deter  her  from  hanging  herself  for  grief  over  the  mur- 
der of  her  father.  Mr.  Allen,  whose  suggestions  are 
always  interesting,  supposes  that  the  name  Erigone 
may  have  been  derived  from  the  Homeric  'Hpiyeveia, 
the  Early  Born,  the  constellation  being  a  very  old  one. 
In  Egypt,  Virgo  was  identified  with  Isis,  and  it  was 
said  that  she  had  made  the  Milky  Way  by  dropping 
wheat.-  heads.  In  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  she 
81 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

seems  to  have  been  associated  with  Ishtar,  the  Queen 
of  the  Stars,  turned,  says  Allen,  into  the  Ashtoreth  of 
the  Book  of  Kings,  the  Astarte  of  Syria,  the  Hathor  of 
Egypt,  and  the  Aphrodite  of  Greece.  In  Assyria  she 
was  Bel's  wife.  In  Judea  her  name  was  Bethulah, 
and  she  was  regarded  as  giving  abundant  harvests. 
Dr.  Seiss,  as  we  might  anticipate,  identifies  her  with 
the  Virgin  Mary.  The  same  thing  was  done  by  the 
churchmen  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Scattered  over  the  area  between  the  stars  Beta, 
Eta,  Gamma,  Delta,  and  Epsilon  lies  the  celebrated 
Field  of  the  Nebulae,  thus  called  on  account  of  the 
surprising  assemblage  of  faint  telescopic  nebulas  to 
be  seen  there.  They  number  more  than  three  hun- 
dred! Nebulas  are  the  seeds  of  future  suns,  and,  re- 
membering this  fact,  one  cannot  help  being  impressed 
by  the  singular  choice  of  Virgo  as  the  celestial  patron 
of  husbandry,  a  choice  made  thousands  of  years  be- 
fore the  invention  of  the  telescope  or  the  discovery 
that  such  things  as  nebulae  existed.  Was  there  once 
a  now  forgotten  age  when  men  were  as  learned  as  we 
are  to-day,  and  did  a  little  of  this  knowledge  descend 
to  their  degenerate  successors  in  the  form  of  uncom- 
prehended  traditions?  Another  thing  which  associ- 
ates the  Field  of  the  Nebulae  with  the  ideas  of  seed- 
time and  harvest,  of  growth,  life,  and  development,  is 
the  presence  in  the  same  area  of  an  extraordinary 
number  of  variable  stars. 

Among  telescopic  objects  may  be  mentioned  the 
star  Gamma,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  visual 
binaries.     In  brightness  the  two  components  are  near- 
ly equal,  both  being  usually  reckoned  of  the  third 
82 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MAY 

magnitude.  The  distance  between  them  is  variable, 
since  they  revolve  around  their  common  centre  of 
gravity  in  a  long  period,  which  may  be  as  much  as  a 
hundred  and  seventy  years.  In  1836  they  were  so 
close  that  no  telescope  could  split  them.  In  1904 
their  distance  was  5". 8.  In  1931  their  distance  should 
be  over  6",  and  after  that,  if  the  period  mentioned 
is  correct,  they  will  begin  to  close  up  again.  Theta 
is  double;  magnitudes,  fourth  and  ninth;  distance, 
7".  There  is  a  third  faint  star  at  a  distance  of  65". 


Coma  Berenices 

(CHARTS  III  AND  tfQ. 

North  of  Virgo,  directly  on  the  meridian  in  the  mid- 
dle of  May,  and  almost  exactly  overhead  in  the  mean 
latitude  of  the  United  States,  is  the  beautiful  little 
constellation  of  Coma  Berenices,  or  Berenice's  Hair. 
To  the  eye  it  appears  as  a  glimmering  spot  in  the  sky, 
and  a  little  attention  is  needed  to  reveal  the  separate 
stars  composing  it.  There  are  six  of  these  in  a  close 
group  in  the  crown  of  the  chevelure,  one  of  the  fourth, 
and  five  of  the  fifth  magnitude.  There  are  two  other 
fourth -magnitude  and  twelve  fifth -magnitude  stars 
in  the  constellation,  with  many  of  the  sixth  magnitude 
which  serve  to  increase  the  glimmer.  They  have  no 
names  or  letters — only  numbers.  Yet  the  constella- 
tion is  an  ancient  one.  It  is  situated  at  the  northern 
pole  of  the  Milky  Way.  The  name  is  said  to  be  that 
of  Berenice,  the  queen  of  Ptolemy  Euergetes,  and  the 
legend  relates  that  when  her  husband  started  on  a 
dangerous  campaign  into  Assyria,  Berenice  vowed  to 
83 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

dedicate  her  beautiful  hair  to  the  Temple  of  Venus  if 
he  should  return  safe.  He  did  return,  and  the  queen 
kept  her  vow.  Then  Jove,  who  was  always  ready  to 
oblige  a  beautiful  woman,  even  though  she  were  mor- 
tal, translated  the  shining  locks  to  the  stars.  Eratos- 
thenes, however,  identified  the  constellation  with  the 
hair  of  Ariadne.  In  later  Christian  times  it  was 
identified  with  the  sacred  handkerchief,  the  Vera 
Icon,  of  Saint  Veronica.  Dr.  Seiss  associates  it  with 
the  Star  of  the  Magi.  It  was  vertically  overhead  at 
Jerusalem  on  the  2$th  of  December  at  the  time  of 
Christ's  birth,  he  says,  and  he  locates  the  wonderful 
new  star  observed  by  Hipparchus,  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  before,  in  this  constellation.  It  was  the 
appearance  of  this  star  that  led  Hipparchus  to  make 
his  stellar  catalogue.  Hipparchus  lived  more  than 
£,  century  before  Christ,  but  Dr.  Seiss  has  found  a 
Chinese  reference  to  the  new  star  as  being  brilliant 
at  a  period  corresponding  to  that  of  the  Saviour's 
birth.  In  the  days  of  Ptolemy,  a  century  and  a  half 
after  Christ,  the  star  was  so  faint  as  hardly  to  be  dis- 
tinguishable. If  it  was  a  temporary  star,  it  has  not 
reappeared  since. 

There  is  in  Coma  Berenices  a  singular  collection  of 
double  stars  with  lilac-colored  companions.  I  quote, 
on  this  subject,  from  my  Pleasures  of  the  Telescope: 

Let  us  begin  with  the  star  2 ,  magnitudes  sixth  and  seven 
and  a  half,  distance  3". 6.  The  color  of  the  smaller  star  is 
lilac.  This  color,  although  not  extremely  uncommon  among 
double  stars  elsewhere,  recurs  with  singular  persistence  in 
this  little  constellation.  In  the  very  next  star  that  we  look 
at,  12,  we  find  a  double  whose  smaller  component  is  lilac. 
84 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    MAY 

The  magnitudes  are  fifth  and  eighth,  distance  66".  So 
also  the  wide  double  17,  magnitudes  fifth  and  six  and  a 
half,  distance  145",  exhibits  a  tinge  of  lilac  in  the  smaller 
component.  The  triple  35,  magnitudes  fifth,  eighth,  and 
ninth,  distances  i"  and  2 8' '.7,  has  for  colors  yellow,  lilac,  and 
blue;  and  the  double  24,  magnitudes  fifth  and  sixth,  dis- 
tance 20",  combines  an  orange  with  a  lilac  star. 


Canes  Venatid 

(CHARTS  I,  II,  AND  VI) 

Between  Coma  Berenices  and  the  handle  of  the 
Great  Dipper  we  find  another  extremely  interesting 
little  constellation — Canes  Venatici,  or  the  Hunting 
Dogs.  It  has  but  one  star  as  bright  as  the  third  mag- 
nitude, the  beautiful  Cor  Caroli,  or  Charles's  Heart, 
thus  named  by  Halley  in  honor  of  King  Charles  II. 
of  England,  because  it  was  said  to  have  shone  with 
extraordinary  brilliancy  on  the  night  of  his  corona- 
tion. This  star  is  double,  having  at  a  distance  of 
20"  a  sixth-magnitude  companion  of  a  light-blue  or,  as 
some  say,  lilac  hue.  The  contrast  is  superb  in  a  small 
telescope. 

But  while  the  principal  star  of  the  Hunting  Dogs 
has  received  a  name  whose  romance  is  associated  with 
English  history,  the  constellation  was  invented  in 
Germany  by  Hevelius  He  named  the  two  dogs  As- 
terion  and  Chara,  the  former  being  the  more  north- 
ern one.  Cor  Caroli  flames  on  the  collar  of  Chara. 
These  dogs  are  represented  as  a  pair  of  hounds  held 
in  a  leash  by  Bootes,  and  seeming  to  chase  Ursa  Major 
round  the  pole,  whence  Carlyle's  reference  to  the  dogs 
85 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

of  Bootes  running  across  the  zenith  "  in  their  leash  of 
sidereal  fire."  Canes  Venatici  contains,  besides  Cor 
Caroli,  one  star  of  the  fourth  magnitude  and  seven- 
teen of  the  fifth.  In  the  head  of  the  dog  Asterion, 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  revealing  its  full  won- 
der only  in  photographs,  is  the  famous  Whirlpool 
Nebula  of  Lord  Rosse. 

Some  degrees  north  -  northwest  of  Cor  Caroli  is  a 
remarkable  star,  faintly  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
which  Secchi  named  La  Superba,  on  account  of  its 
surprisingly  brilliant  red  color.  A  telescope  should 
be  used  to  appreciate  its  beauty. 


VII 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN  JUNE 

Libra 

(CHARTS  X  AND  XI) 

WE  begin  with  the  eighth  constellation  of  the  zo- 
diac, Libra,  the  Balance,  which  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  middle  of  June  appears  just  entering  upon  the 
meridian  from  the  east,  following  the  feet  of  Virgo. 
This  constellation  was  blended  by  the  Greeks  with 
Scorpio,  forming  the  out -stretched  claws  of  that  mon- 
ster. It  seems  to  have  been  separated  from  Scorpio, 
under  the  name  of  Libra,  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar. 
Homer's  reference  to  "golden  scales"  hung  by  Zeus 
in  heaven  is  thought  to  have  been  associated  with 
some  other  group  of  stars,  but  Milton  places  the 
Balance  where  we  see  it  in  his  description  of  the 
threatened  battle  between  Gabriel  and  Satan: 

.  .  .  Now  dreadful  deeds 
Might  have  ensued,  nor  only  Paradise 
In  this  commotion,  but  the  starry  cope 
Of  heaven  perhaps,  or  all  the  elements 
At  least,  had  gone  to  wrack,  disturbed  and  torn 
With  violence  of  this  conflict,  had  not  soon 
87 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED     EY I 

The  Eternal,  to  prevent  such  horrid  fray, 

Hung  forth  in  heaven  his  golden  scales,  yet  seen 

Betwixt  Astrasa  and  the  Scorpion  sign. 

— Paradise  Lost,  Book  IV. 


Astraea  here  refers  to  Virgo.  Two  stars  of  the  sec 
ond  magnitude,  Beta  09),  or  Zubeneschemali,  anc 
Alpha  (a),  or  Zubenelgenubi,  indicate  the  two  scale; 
of  the  balance,  Beta  being  the  more  northern  anc 
the  brighter.  This  star  is  remarkable  as  the  onh 
naked-eye  star  which  has  a  green  color.  The  hue  i; 
sufficiently  pronounced  to  be  evident  to  any  sensitiv< 
eye.  Green  is  a  rare  stellar  color,  except  with  som< 
of  the  components  of  telescopic  doubles.  Some  eyes 
however,  detect  a  tinge  of  green  in  the  rays  of  Sirius 
Alpha  has  a  fifth -magnitude  companion  easily  seei 
with  an  opera-glass.  Besides  its  two  leading  stars 
Libra  contains  one  star  of  the  fourth  magnitude  anc 
nine  of  the  fifth. 

The  mythology  of  this  constellation  is  confusing 
Although  forming  the  claws  of  Scorpio  in  the  time  o 
Eratosthenes,  it  seems  to  have  been  an  independen 
constellation  at  an  earlier  date.  The  Greeks  at  om 
time  called  it  the  Beam,  and  associated  it  with  th< 
scales  of  the  Goddess  of  Justice.  Readers  of  Addisoi 
will  recall  his  beautiful  dream  of  the  Balance  in  th< 
Taller.  In  China  the  constellation  at  first  representec 
a  dragon,  but  afterwards  a  celestial  balance.  Theri 
are  indistinct  indications  that  in  the  valley  of  thi 
Euphrates  it  stood  for  the  Tower  of  Babel.  It  wa 
also  regarded  as  an  altar.  Another  identificatioi 
among  the  Greeks  was  with  Pluto's  chariot,  in  whicl 
88 


Chart  VI 


Vari  a,bilt  s . 

©»*«* 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

he  ran  off  with  Persephone,  or  Proserpina.  For  Dr. 
Seiss  it  symbolizes  the  Divine  Judgment.  He  ac- 
counts for  the  confusion  arising  from  its  association 
with  the  claws  of  Scorpio  by  saying  that  in  some  of 
the  ancient  zodiacs  the  under  bowl  of  the  balance  was 
represented  as  being  seized  by  the  Scorpion. 

The  star  Delta  (8)  is  a  remarkable  short -period 
variable,  changing  every  two  days,  seven  hours  and 
fifty-one  minutes  from  the  fifth  down  to  less  than  the 
sixth  magnitude,  and  back  again.  Variables  of  this 
kind  belong  to  what  is  called  the  Algol  type,  from 
the  star  Algol  in  Perseus,  the  first  of  them  to  be  dis- 
covered. Their  changes  are  probably  caused  by  the 
periodic  interposition  of  huge  dark  bodies  revolving 
around  them. 

Bootes 

(CHARTS  III,  VI,  AND  VII) 

Another  breath  from  Homer  comes  to  us  when  we 
reach  Bootes,  the  great  constellation  of  the  North. 
The  name  is  taken  letter  for  letter  from  the  Odyssey : 

So  he  sat  and  cunningly  guided  the  craft  with  the  helm, 
nor  did  sleep  fall  upon  his  eyelids  as  he  viewed  the  Pleiades 
and  Bootes,  that  setteth  late,  and  the  Bear,  which  they  like- 
wise call  the  Wain,  which  turneth  ever  in  one  place  and 
alone  hath  no  part  in  the  baths  of  Ocean.  This  star,  Ca- 
lypso, the  fair  goddess,  bade  him  keep  ever  on  the  left  as 
he  traversed  the  deep. 

— Odyssey,  Book  V. 

The  constellation  is  represented  by  the  figure  of  a 
tall  man,  with  uplifted  hand,  holding  a  leash  to  which 
r  89 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

are  attached  the  Hunting  Dogs,  Canes  Venatici.  They 
seem  to  be  chasing  the  Greater  Bear  around  the  pole, 
hence  the  name,  often  given  to  Bootes,  of  the  Bear 
Driver.  But  he  has  also  been  represented  as  a  Herds- 
man and  a  Ploughman.  The  constellation  is  nearly 
fifty  degrees  in  length  from  north  to  south,  and  imme- 
diately attracts  the  eye  by  the  splendor  of  its  principal 
star,  the  celebrated  Arcturus,  which  many  regard  as  the 
brightest  star  north  of  the  celestial  equator.  It  has, 
however,  two  rivals  for  this  honor,  Capella  and  Vega, 
or  Alpha  Lyrae.  Photometric  measurements  show 
all  three  of  about  the  same  brightness — only  three- 
tenths  of  a  magnitude  below  the  zero  rank.  But 
Arcturus  possesses  a  peculiar  prestige  on  account  of 
the  admiring  mention  of  its  name  in  the  Book  of  Job, 
where  the  Almighty,  answering  Job  out  of  the  whirl- 
wind, is  represented  as  demanding,  at  the  end  of  a 
dazzling  string  of  astronomical  allusions,  "Canst  thou 
guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons?"  It  is  doubtful,  how- 
ever, whether  the  Hebrew  poet  was  thinking  of  the 
star  Arcturus  or  of  the  constellation  Ursa  Major  when 
he  wrote  this  magnificent  passage,  whose  rhetoric  loses 
none  of  its  sublimity  in  the  English  rendering. 

Arcturus  is  generally  regarded  as  a  red  star.  When 
near  the  horizon  it  flames  splendidly,  but  high  in  the 
heavens  its  color  seems  to  fade.  There  is  evidence 
that  it  undergoes  changes  of  color,  and  that  formerly 
the  ruddy  tint  was  more  pronounced.  At  present 
it  may,  perhaps,  best  be  described  as  golden  yellow. 
It  is  a  sun  of  great  magnitude,  exceeding  ours  in 
intrinsic  brilliancy  at  least  a  hundred  times.  Its 
spectrum  resembles  that  of  the  sun,  but  indicates  a 
90 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

more  advanced  stage.  In  1858,  when  Donati's  comet 
blazed  in  the  Northern  sky,  Arcturus  shone  brilliant- 
ly one  night  through  the  comet,  close  to  the  head. 
Curiously  enough,  the  great  comet  of  1618  also  passed 
over  Arcturus  without  dimming  its  light.  Arcturus 
is  one  of  the  "runaway  suns,"  its  proper  motion 
amounting  to  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  miles  per 
second.  It  is  moving  in  a  southwesterly  direction 
across  the  sky,  the  change  of  position  amounting  to 
more  than  2"  of  arc  per  year.  It  has  travelled  twice 
the  diameter  of  the  moon  since  the  time  of  Ptolemy. 
The  sudden  arrest  of  the  motion  of  so  vast  a  star  by 
means  of  one  of  the  "astronomical  collisions"  which 
occasionally  occur  in  space  would  produce  an  outburst 
of  light  exceeding  anything  of  the  kind  that  has  ever 
been  witnessed  from  the  earth. 

Arcturus  is  sometimes  represented  in  the  knee  of 
the  figure,  and  sometimes,  like  a  great  pendent  jewel, 
it  hangs  on  the  hem  of  the  giant's  robe.  Next  to 
Arcturus,  the  brightest  star  in  the  constellation  is 
Epsilon  (e),  or  Mirac,  of  the  third  magnitude,  or,  as 
Heis  charts  it,  the  second.  This  is  reckoned  by  some 
observers  as  the  most  beautiful  double  star  in  the 
heavens,  on  account  of  the  contrast  of  colors  presented. 
Mirac  is  in  the  right  elbow.  Beta  (/?),  or  Nakkar,  in 
the  head,  is  of  the  third  magnitude,  as  are  Gamma  (7) 
in  the  left  shoulder,  Delta  (S)  in  the  staff  held  in  the 
right  hand,  Zeta  (£)  in  the  right  foot,  and  Eta  (?/)  in 
the  left  knee.  A  group  of  three  fifth-magnitude  stars 
northeast  of  the  end  of  the  Great  Dipper's  handle 
marks  the  uplifted  left  hand  holding  the  leash.  The 
most  easterly  of  these  stars,  Theta  (0),  bears  the  curi- 
91 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EY 

cms  name  of  Alkalurops,  of  Arabic  origin,  but  said  b 
Allen  to  be  an  adaptation  of  the  Greek  name  K< 
XaOpoi/r,  meaning  club.  The  staff,  or  crook,  in  the  rigl 
hand  is  marked  by  a  row  consisting  of  Psi  (^),  Delt 
(5),  Mu  (ji),  and  Nu  (*>),  with  smaller  stars  amon 
them. 

In  all,  Bootes  contains  one  star  of  the  first  magn 
tude  (and  above),  one  of  the  second,  five  of  the  thin 
nine  of  the  fourth,  and  twenty-four  of  the  fifth.  The] 
are,  of  course,  many  of  the  sixth  magnitude,  but  tl 
constellation  covers  a  space  so  large  that  as  a  who. 
it  does  not  greatly  impress  the  eye. 

Its  mythology  is  interesting.  According  to  sorr 
of  the  Greeks,  it  represented  Icarius,  the  father  ( 
Erigone.  Others  said  that  it  represented  Erichthoniu 
the  inventor  of  chariots;  still  others  that  it  was  tt 
son  of  Zeus  and  the  nymph  Callisto,  who  was  change 
into  Ursa  Major  through  Hera's  jealousy.  It  WE 
also  sometimes  called  Areas,  the  son  of  Zeus  and  Ca 
listo.  Ovid  identifies  Arctophilax,  one  of  the  earl 
names  of  the  constellation,  with  Areas.  Arctophila 
was  the  Bear  Watcher.  According  to  Lockyer,  th 
star  Arcturus  was  one  of  those  to  which  Egyptia 
temples  were  oriented.  In  Dr.  Seiss's  system  of  go* 
pel  mythology,  Bootes  represents  the  Great  Shej 
herd  and  Harvester  of  Souls,  and  he  manages  to  trac 
this  prophetic  meaning  back  through  all  the  Orients 
myths. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  beauty  c 

the  double  star  Mirac,  or  Epsilon  Bootes.     The  mag 

nitudes  are  third  (or  two  and  a  half)  and  sixth ;  dij 

tance,  2". 6;  colors,  bright  orange  and  brilliant  emei 

92 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

aid.  Delta  is  double;  magnitudes,  three  and  a  half 
and  eighth;  distance,  no";  colors,  white  and  pale 
lilac.  Mu  is  triple;  magnitudes,  fourth,  seventh,  and 
eighth;  distances,  108"  and  i".  Iota  is  double; 
magnitudes,  fourth  and  seventh;  distance,  38". 


Corona.  Borealis 

(CHART  VII) 

When  Bootes  is  on  the  meridian,  the  beautiful 
Northern  Crown,  Corona  Borealis,  is  seen  just  to  the 
east  of  it.  It  is  one  of  the  constellations  which  every- 
body recognizes  as  bearing  a  resemblance  to  the  ob- 
ject for  which  it  is  named,  for  it  is  indeed  a  crown,  or 
circlet,  of  stars,  set  with  a  central  gem,  and  so  mani- 
fest to  the  eye  that  nobody  ever  sees  it  for  the  first 
time  without  an  admiring  exclamation.  The  circle 
of  stars  is  not  complete,  but  the  whole  outline  is  at 
least  suggested,  while  what  may  be  called  the  front 
of  the  crown  resembles  a  diadem  in  the  regular  ar- 
rangement of  its  stars.  The  brightest  of  these,  "  the 
Pearl  of  the  Crown,"  is  Alphacca,  or  Alpha  (a),  of  be- 
tween the  second  and  third  magnitude.  It  is  some- 
times called  Gemma  Coronae,  or  simply  Gemma. 
Five  fourth-magnitude  stars  unite  with  Alphacca  to 
form  the  curve  of  the  front,  or  southern  half,  of  the 
crown.  There  is  one  other  fourth-magnitude  star  at 
some  distance  towards  the  north,  and  scattered  over 
the  constellation  there  are  six  stars  of  the  fifth  magni- 
tude. In  1866  a  new  star,  as  bright  as  the  Pearl 
itself,  suddenly  appeared  near  the  eastern  edge  of  the 
93 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

crown.     It  soon  faded,  but  is  still  visible  with  tele- 
scopes. 

This  constellation  has  been  known  from  remote 
antiquity.  It  was  called  by  the  Greeks  Ariadne's 
Crown,  placed  among  the  stars  in  memory  of  the  un- 
fortunate daughter  of  Minos,  who,  after  giving  Theseus 
the  clew  to  the  Cretan  labyrinth,  as  well  as  her  heart, 
was  deserted  by  the  faithless  hero.  Apollonius  oJ 
Rhodes,  in  his  Tale  of  the  Argonauts,  represents  the 
heroes  who  sailed  with  Jason  in  search  of  the  Gold- 
en Fleece  as  watching  this  constellation  while  the} 
crossed  the  Pontus  Euxinus: 

.  .  .  the  immortals  divine 
Loved  well  that  maid.     In  the  midst  of  the  firmament  i: 

set  her  sign, 

A  crown  of  stars,  which  they  name  Ariadne's  diadem, 
All  night  circling  amidst  of  the  signs  that  the  heavens  begem 

— Way's   Translation. 

Plutarch  has  a  story  that,  after  the  desertion  o: 
Theseus,  Ariadne  espoused  Bacchus,  who  gave  hei 
a  crown  of  seven  stars,  which,  upon  her  death,  was 
translated  to  the  sky. 

And  there  that  crown  by  sheeny  Dionysus  fixed, 
Monument  of  dead  Ariadne. 

— Aratus. 

The  star  Gamma  (7)  is  a  famous  binary;  magni- 
tudes,  fourth  and  seventh;    distance  (1907),  0^.63 
Zeta  is  double ;  magnitudes,  fourth  and  fifth ;  distance 
6". 3;  colors,  white  and  blue-green. 
94 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 
Ursa,  Minor 

(CHART  I) 

Ursa  Minor,  the  Lesser  Bear,  is  the  polar  constella- 
tion par  excellence,  and  is  seen  on  the  meridian  above 
the  pole  in  the  evenings  of  June.  Since  its  most  con- 
spicuous star  marks  very  nearly  the  exact  north  pole 
of  the  heavens,  it  has  been  an  object  of  observation, 
and  more  or  less  of  veneration,  in  all  the  northern 
hemisphere.  As  the  figure  of  the  imaginary  bear  is 
always  drawn,  the  North  Star,  Polaris,  represents  the 
end  of  its  long  tail,  by  which  it  swings  about  the  axis 
of  the  sky.  The  stars  in  this  figure  form  the  outline 
of  a  dipper  with  its  handle  bent  the  wrong  way,  and 
this  is  often  called  the  Little  Dipper.  Its  bowl  hangs 
down  towards  the  handle  of  the  Great  Dipper  in  Ursa 
Major.  The  constellation  contains  two  stars  of  the 
second  magnitude,  one  of  the  third,  three  of  the 
fourth,  and  four  of  the  fifth.  The  pole-star  is  the 
Alpha  (a)  of  the  constellation,  but  it  is  rivalled  in 
brightness  by  Beta  (£),  or  Kochab,  in  the  bowl  of 
the  Dipper  and  in  the  flank  of  the  imaginary  bear. 
Alpha  was  called  in  Greece  Phcenice,  because  the 
Phoenicians  used  this  star  to  guide  them  in  naviga- 
tion. Its  virtually  fixed  position  in  space  (it  is  now 
less  than  one  degree  and  a  quarter  from  the  true  pole) 
makes  it  a  universal  sign-post  for  wanderers  both  by 
land  and  sea. 

On  thy  un altering  blaze 
The  half-wrecked  mariner,  his  compass  lost, 
95 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EY] 

Fixes  his  steady  gaze, 

And  steers,  undoubting,  to  the  friendly  coast; 
And  they  who  stray  in  perilous  wastes  by  night 
Are  glad  when  thou  dost  shine  to  guide  their  footsteps  righi 

— W.  C.  Bryant. 

In  the  days  of  American  slavery  Polaris  was  th 
star  of  stars  for  escaping  slaves  who  sought  to  fm< 
their  way  at  night  towards  freedom  and  the  Nortt 
Although,  in  consequence  of  the  Precession  of  the  Equi 
noxes,  Polaris  was  more  than  twelve  degrees  from  th 
true  pole  in  the  days  of  Hipparchus,  even  then  it  serve 
to  indicate  the  north  point.  It  is  still  approachin 
the  pole,  and  will  be  within  half  a  degree  of  it  les 
than  two  centuries  hence.  After  that  it  will  recede 
and  in  the  course  of  some  eleven  thousand  years  wi' 
be  fifty  degrees  distant  from  the  pole.  While  th 
Phoenicians  used  Polaris,  or  perhaps  the  whole  cor 
stellation,  for  their  guide  at  sea,  the  Greek  sailor 
seem  to  have  employed  Ursa  Major  for  a  similar  pui 
pose.  Thus  Aratus  says : 

The  name  of  one  is  Cynosura, 
Of  the  other  Helice.     By  Helice  Greek 
Seafarers  learn  what  way  to  steer  their  ships, 
The  other  guides  Phoenicians  o'er  the  main. 

Helice,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  Create 
Bear;  Cynosura  was  the  Lesser  Bear. 

The  star  Kochab,  or  Beta,  in  the  bowl  of  the  Littl 
Dipper,  is  the  rival  of  Polaris  in  brilliancy,  but  it  di; 
fers  strikingly  in  color.  Polaris  is  white,  or  yellowis 
white,  and  Kochab  is  reddish.  The  nearest  neighbc 
to  Kochab,  Gamma,  is  of  the  third  magnitude.  Th 
96 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

stars  forming  the  back  part  of  the  bowl  and  the  handle 
are  of  the  fourth  magnitude. 

In  Greek  mythology  Ursa  Major  and  Ursa  Minor 
were  sometimes  regarded  as  the  two  bears  fabled  to 
have  nursed  Zeus  on  Mount  Ida.  Zeus  changed  his 
nurses  into  nymphs,  and  then,  instead  of  marrying 
them,  translated  them  to  the  stars. 

...  If  tales  are  true, 

Crete  was  their  home  ere,  by  great  Zeus's  will 
They  climbed  the  sky,  because  the  baby  Zeus 
On  Ida's  mount,  by  aromatic  Dictus, 
In  secret  cavern  they  nurtured  for  a  year. 

— Aratus. 

In  Babylonia  it  was  called  the  Leopard,  and  in 
Egypt  the  Jackal  of  Set,  or  Sati.  In  Scandinavian 
mythology  it  was  the  Throne  of  Thor!  The  Finns 
alone  among  Northern  nations,  Mr.  Allen  remarks, 
called  it  the  Little  Bear.  In  China  Polaris  has  been 
from  ancient  times  an  object  of  worship.  The  Rev. 
Joseph  Edkins,  in  his  Religion  in  China,  quoted  by 
Dr.  Warren  in  his  Paradise  Found  (an  attempt  to 
prove  that  the  cradle  of  the  human  race  was  at  the 
north  pole),  says: 

I  met,  on  one  occasion,  a  school-teacher  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Chafoo.  He  asked  if  I  had  any  books  to  give 
away  on  astronomy  and  geography.  .  .  .  The  inquiry  was 
pxit  to  him:  "Who  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth?"  He 
replied  that  he  knew  none  but  the  Pole-star,  called  in  the 
Chinese  language  Teen-hwang-ta-te,  the  Great  Imperial  Ruler 
of  Heaven. 

The  North  American  Indians  are  said  to  have  fig- 
97 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

ured  this  constellation  as  a  bear,  but  Dr.  Seiss  will 
have  no  bear  there.  For  him  Ursa  Minor  is,  and  al- 
ways has  been,  a  sheepfold,  and  he  tries  to  show  that 
such  was  the  meaning  of  the  ancient  names  given 
to  it. 

Among  the  telescopic  objects  of  Ursa  Minor,  Polaris 
takes  the  first  place.  In  the  days  of  small  telescopes 
it  was  the  universal  test  for  the  optical  qualities  of  a 
glass.  One  that  would  show  the  companion  of  the 
pole-star  could  be  accepted  without  question.  The 
component  stars  are  of  magnitudes  second  and  ninth ; 
distance,  18^.5;  colors,  yellowish  white  and  dull  blue. 
The  large  star  is  a  spectroscopic  binary. 

Draco 

(CHART  I) 

Between  the  two  Bears  curls  Draco,  the  great 
Dragon  of  the  North.  It  winds  around  three  sides  of 
the  pole,  and  consequently  occupies  several  months 
in  crossing  the  meridian,  for  any  fixed  hour  of  the 
night,  but  it  may  best  be  described  in  this  chapter. 

The  head  of  the  imaginary  dragon  is  at  this  time 
some  35°  east  of  the  pole,  while  the  end  of  its  tail  is 
about  10°  southwest  of  it.  Its  leading  star,  Alpha  (a), 
or  Thuban,  is  nearly  on  the  meridian  between  the 
bowl  of  the  Little  Dipper  and  the  handle  of  the  Great 
Dipper.  About  4650  years  ago  Thuban  was  the  north 
polar  star,  and  much  closer  to  the  true  pole  than 
Polaris  is  at  the  present  time.  Then  the  Dragon 
whirled  about  the  pole  as  if  balanced  at  the  centre 
of  its  body.  This  star  is  now  below  the  third  magni- 
98 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

tude,  but  it  is  believed  once  to  have  been  as  bright 
as  Polaris.  It  possesses  great  interest  because  the 
mysterious  central  passage  in  the  great  pyramid  of 
Cheops,  which  is  380  feet  long  and  4  feet  by  3^  feet 
in  diameter,  points  to  the  place  that  it  occupied  in 
the  sky  when  it  was  the  pole-star.  It  is  thought  that 
the  star  could  then  be  seen  by  day  as  well  as  by  night 
from  the  bottom  of  the  passage,  which  is  situated  in 
a  small  chamber  carved  out  of  the  solid  rock  deep 
beneath  the  foundation  of  the  mighty  pile. 

The  brightest  star  in  Draco  is  now  Gamma  (7),  or 
Eltanin,  in  the  head.  Beta  (#),  or  Rastaban,  and  Xi 
(I),  also  in  the  head,  are  of  the  third  magnitude,  and 
their  neighbor,  Nu  (i/),  is  of  the  fourth.  Starting  with 
the  head,  whose  principal  stars  form  a  striking  lozenge 
or  diamond  shaped  figure  with  the  star  Iota  (i)  in 
Hercules,  the  eye  can  easily  trace  out  the  coiling 
figure  of  the  Dragon,  running  first  northeastward, 
then  northward,  then  southward,  then  westward  be- 
tween the  Bears,  the  end  of  the  tail  finally  twisting 
towards  the  pole  from  the  northwest.  Over  this  long, 
winding  course  are  distributed  the  third  -  magnitude 
stars  Delta  (8),  Zeta  (f),  Eta  (77),  Iota  (*),  Alpha  (a), 
Kappa  (K),  and  Lambda  (X). 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  constellation  to  whose  stars  so 
many  individual  names  have  been  given.  The  Arabs 
had  names  for  all  of  its  brighter  stars,  usually  signi- 
fying goats  or  camels.  Gamma  is  the  most  interesting 
because  it  was  an  object  of  temple  worship  in  early 
Egypt,  where  it  was  known  under  the  name  of  Isis. 
The  temple  of  Hathor,  at  Denderah,  and  that  of  Mut,  at 
Thebes,  were  so  oriented  that  this  star  shone  through 
99 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

their  central  passage  into  the  "holy  of  holies."  Long 
afterwards  it  served  for  the  orientation  of  the  great 
temple  at  Karnak.  Seven  other  temples,  according 
to  Lockyer,  were  oriented  to  it.  At  Karnak  its  slen- 
der light-beam  passed  between  magnificent  walls  and 
columns  extending  over  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  length 
before  it  was  led  to  the  altar.  When  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes  shifted  its  place  of  rising,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  axes  of  the  temples  was  changed  in  order 
still  to  escort  its  sacred  ray. 

In  astronomical  history  Gamma  Draconis  is  inter- 
esting as  having  been  the  star  which  led  Bradley  to 
his  discovery  of  the  aberration  of  light,  a  phenomenon 
which  first  attracted  his  attention  in  1725.  As  Lock- 
yer has  remarked,  the  Egyptian  priests,  in  shifting 
the  axes  of  their  massive  temples  to  follow  this  star, 
had  evidence  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  its  discoverers  long  anterior  to 
Hipparchus.  But,  if  so,  they  seem  to  have  had  no 
scientific  understanding  of  it. 

Draco  contains  one  star  of  near  the  second  mag- 
nitude ;  nine  of  the  third,  or  under ;  six  of  the 
fourth,  or  less ;  and  twenty  -  five  of  about  the 
fifth. 

The  religious  importance  of  the  constellation  in 
Egypt  has  already  been  indicated.  In  Greek  my- 
thology it  was  sometimes  identified  with  the  dragon 
that  guarded  the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides, 
and  sometimes  as  the  dragon  associated  with  the 
Golden  Fleece,  which  was  killed  by  Cadmus,  aided 
by  Athene,  and  whose  teeth  when  sown  sprang  up 
as  armed  men.  Jason  obtained  some  of  these  teeth, 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JUNE 

and,  under  the  direction  of  Medea,  first  sowed  and 
then  reaped  them  to  win  the  Golden  Fleece: 

Then  bent  he  his  knees  till  supple  they  grew,  and  he  filled 

with  might 
His  great  heart,  battle-aflame  as  a  boar  when  he  whetteth 

for  fight. 
Now  by  this  was  the  harvest  of  earth-born  men  over  all  that 

field 
Upspringing,  and  all  round  bristled  with  thronging  shield  on 

shield, 
And  with  battle-spears  twy-pointed,  and  morions  glorious 

gleaming, 
The  garth  of  the  death-dealing  war  god,  the  splendor  thereof 

upstreaming. 

— Apollon-ius,  The  Argonauts. 

Yet  another  Greek  legend  averred  that  this  was  the 
dragon  that  Athene  whirled  into  the  sky  when  the 
Olympian  gods  made  war  on  the  earth-born  giants, 
and  there  it  became  entangled  with  the  axis  of  the 
heavens.  Do  not  these  antique  tales  take  a  stronger 
hold  on  the  imagination  when  the  memory  of  them  is 
thus  inscribed  in  the  stars?  As  was  quite  to  be  ex- 
pected, some  have  seen  in  Draco  the  Serpent  that 
tempted  Eve,  and  Dr.  Seiss  avers  that  the  constella- 
tion was  never  meant  to  symbolize  anything  other 
than  the  "Old  Serpent"  of  the  Scriptures,  the  general 
enemy  of  mankind. 

The  star  Mu  (/i)  is  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and 
fifth;  distance,  2". 4  In  the  double  Eta  the  com- 
ponents are  of  the  third  and  the  tenth  magnitudes; 
distance,  4". 7.  Epsilon  (e)  is  double;  magnitudes, 
fifth  and  sixth;  distance,  33". 


VIII 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN  JULY 

Scorpio 

(CHART  XI) 

THE  ninth  constellation  of  the  zodiac,  and  one  of 
the  most  striking  figures  among  the  stars,  Scorpio, 
the  Scorpion,  trails  alorig  the  southern  horizon  on  a 
clear  summer  night,  stretching  the  stumps  of  its  sun- 
dered claws  towards  Libra,  very  conspicuous  in  the  ab- 
sence of  full  moonlight  on  account  of  the  splendor  of 
its  chief  star,  Antares,  or  Alpha  (a)  Scorpionis,  one  of 
the  reddest  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Its  color 
is  that  of  flame,  and  it  differs  in  tint  from  both  Betel- 
geuse  and  Aldebaran.  The  flame-like  character  of 
the  light  of  Antares  was  recognized  by  the  Chinese, 
who  called  it  the  Great  Fire.  The  name  Antares  has 
been  derived  from  the  Greek  avn-Kp^,  denoting  some 
association,  or  contrast,  with  Ares,  or  Mars,  the  name 
borne  from  antiquity  by  the  ruddy  planet  that  circles 
between  the  earth  and  Jupiter.  It  is  one  of  the  four 
"Royal  Stars,"  which  have  already  been  mentioned. 
It  is  generally  represented  as  shining  in  the  heart  of 
the  Scorpion,  or  where  the  heart  may  be  supposed  to 
lie,  and  its  Arabian  name  was  the  Scorpion's  Heart. 


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Chart  VII 


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*       •       • 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JULY 

Antares  is  rendered,  if  possible,  more  conspicuous 
by  two  small  stars  standing  like  guardians,  one  on 
either  side  of  it.  These  stars,  Sigma  (<r)  and  Tau  (T), 
are  of  about  the  third  magnitude.  Two  second-mag- 
nitude stars  northwest  of  Antares,  Beta  (yS),  or  Graf- 
fias,  and  Delta  (8),  or  Al  Jabhab,  with  a  third-magni- 
tude one,  Pi  (TT),  below  them,  mark  the  front  of  the 
Scorpion's  head.  The  tail,  beginning  with  Epsilon 
(e),  drops  down  to  the  horizon,  then  turns  eastward, 
and  finally  curves  upward  again,  terminating  in  a  con- 
spicuous pair  of  stars,  Lambda  (\)  and  Upsilon  (u), 
the  first  of  the  third  and  the  other  of  the  fourth  mag- 
nitude. All  told,  Scorpio  has  one  star  of  the  first 
magnitude,  two  of  the  second,  seven  of  the  third, 
eight  of  the  fourth,  and  ten  of  the  fifth.  The  eastern 
part  of  the  constellation  is  immersed  in  the  Milky  Way, 
near  its  brightest  portion,  where  it  falls  behind  the 
southern  horizon  in  vast  flaky  clouds  of  pale  luminosity. 

Scorpio,  in  Greek  fable,  was  the  scorpion  that  stung 
Orion's  heel  when  he  was  battling  with  the  Lernaean 
monster.  Aratus  speaks  of  "the  fiery  sting  of  the 
huge  portent,  Scorpio,  in  the  south  wind's  bosom." 
It  may  have  been  the  color  of  Antares  which  led  the 
old  alchemists  to  believe  that  iron  could  be  trans- 
muted into  gold  only  when  the  sun  shone  in  the  sign 
of  Scorpio.  But  the  astrologers  did  not  regard  it  as  a 
fortunate  sign;  quite  the  contrary,  indeed,  for  it  was 
said  to  have  been  the  birthplace  of  the  baleful  planet 
Mars,  and  his  "house" 


Bright  Scorpio,  armed  with  poisonous  tail,  prepares 
Men's  martial  minds  for  violence  and  wars. 
103 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

His  venom  heats  and  boils  their  blood  to  rage 
And  rapine  spreads  o'er  the  unlucky  age. 

— Manilius. 

From  the  "ancient  mysteries"  Dr.  Seiss  demon- 
strates, to  his  satisfaction,  that  Scorpio  was  intended 
to  prefigure  the  great  conflict  for  the  salvation  of  man- 
kind, and  he  tries  to  identify  it  with  the  mysterious 
Chambers  of  the  South  of  the  Book  of  Job. 

Scorpio  offers  a  splendid  object  for  the  telescope 
in  Antares,  a  double  star  of  singular  beauty.  The 
magnitudes  are  first  and  seventh;  distance,  3"; 
colors,  fiery  red  and  bright  emerald.  I  know  no 
more  attractive  object  for  a  good  telescope  of  four  or 
five  inches'  aperture.  The  astronomer  O.  M.  Mitch- 
ell once  saw  the  little  green  star  emerging  from 
behind  the  moon,  during  an  occultation,  ahead  of  its 
great  red  comrade.  Antares  belongs  to  the  third  type 
of  stars,  in  which  the  absorbing  envelopes  have  be- 
come so  dense  that  they  are  fast  approaching  ex- 
tinction. Sigma  is  double;  magnitudes,  fourth  and 
ninth;  distance,  22";  colors,  white  and  plum-blue. 
Beta  is  a  very  beautiful  double;  magnitudes,  second 
and  sixth;  distance,  13";  colors,  white  and  pale  blue. 
The  larger  star  is  again  double;  distance,  i" '.  Xi  (£) 
is  triple;  magnitudes,  fifth,  fifth,  and  seventh;  dis- 
tances (1906),  o".28  and  7".  Nu  (i>)  is  also  triple; 
magnitudes,  fourth,  seventh,  and  seventh;  distances, 
40"  and  i ".8.  Rather  less  than  half-way  on  a  line 
from  Antares  to  Beta  is  a  celebrated  star  cluster, 
No.  4173  (80  M.).  Herschel  thought  it  the  richest 
mass  of  stars  in  the  heavens.  In  1860  a  new  star 
appeared  in  this  cluster,  but  lasted  for  only  about  a 
month.  It  was  bright  enough  nearly  to  extinguish 
the  cluster  by  its  overpowering  brilliancy,  although  it 
104 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JULY 

never  became  brighter  than  the  sixth  magnitude.  It 
is  a  comparatively  recent  discovery  that  new  and 
variable  stars  are  especially  abundant  in  dense 
clusters,  suggesting  the  idea  of  collisions.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  this  cluster  is  a  starless  spot  in  the 
sky,  which  was  the  first  "black  hole"  in  the  heavens 
discovered  by  Sir  William  Herschel.  Such  openings 
abound  in  the  neighboring  constellation  of  Sagit- 
tarius, in  the  richest  part  of  the  Milky  Way,  and 
have  given  rise  to  interesting  speculations  concerning 
the  "outer  universe,"  where  the  blackest  night  seems 
to  reign. 

Ophiuchus  and  Serpens 

(CHART    XI) 

These  two  involved  constellations,  which  are  more 
conveniently  treated  as  one,  cover  a  vast  space  in 
the  sky,  north  of  Scorpio,  the  extreme  length  and 
breadth  being  each  about  fifty  degrees.  They  repre- 
sent a  giant  grasping  in  .both  hands  the  coils  of  an 
enormous  serpent,  whose  upraised  head  is  seen  just 
under  the  Northern  Crown.  The  right  leg  of  Ophiu- 
chus is  immersed  to  the  knee  in  a  branch  of  the  Milky 
Way,  above  the  tail  of  the  Scorpio,  while  his  left  foot 
is  planted  over  Antares.  The  head  of  the  giant  is 
marked  by  a  lone  star  of  the  second  magnitude,  Al- 
pha (a),  or  Ras  Alhague.  The  third-magnitude  stars 
Beta  (£)  and  Pi  (?r)  indicate  the  shoulders.  Eta  (?;), 
in  the  right  knee,  is  of  near  the  second  magnitude, 
and  Zeta  (£) ,  in  the  left  knee,  of  the  third.  Two  third- 
magnitude  stars  forming  a  conspicuous  pair,  Epsilon 
(e)  and  Delta  (8) ,  mark  the  left  hand  where  it  grasps 

8  IO5 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  serpent.  Although  Ophiuchus  is  not  a  zodiacal 
constellation,  a  part  of  it  lies  across  the  ecliptic  be- 
tween the  depressed  tail  of  Scorpio  and  Sagittarius, 
so  that  the  sun  is  in  this  constellation  in  the  latter 
part  of  November  and  the  beginning  of  December. 

The  head  of  Serpens  is  well  marked  by  a  group  of 
of  five  stars,  one  of  the  third,  two  of  the  fourth,  and 
two  of  the  fifth  magnitude,  which  form  an  irregular 
quincunx.  Below  these  are  Delta  (8),  of  the  third 
magnitude;  Alpha  (a),  or  Unukalhai,  of  rather  less 
than  the  second  magnitude ;  Epsilon  (e) ,  of  the  third ; 
and  Mu  (/*),  of  the  third.  The  figure  of  the  Serpent 
then  blends  with  that  of  Ophiuchus,  reappearing  east- 
ward of  the  giant,  where  it  has  one  star  of  the  third 
magnitude,  Eta  (77),  and  one  of  the  fourth,  Theta  (0), 
which  indicates  the  end  of  the  tail.  Alpha  is  in  the 
Serpent's  neck,  and  is  sometimes  called  Cor  Serpentis. 
All  told,  Ophiuchus  and  Serpens  contain  three  stars 
generally  ranked  as  of  the  second  magnitude,  twelve 
of  the  third,  twelve  of  the  fourth,  and  thirty-four  of 
the  fifth.  Lying  in  a  rich  region  of  the  heavens,  they 
possess  numerous  stars  of  the  sixth  magnitude. 

In  Greek  mythology  Ophiuchus  was  the  great  phy- 
sician ^Ssculapius,  to  whom  Socrates,  about  to  die, 
requested  his  friends  to  offer  a  cock.  The  legend 
relates  that  Pluto,  the  god  of  the  nether  regions,  be- 
came alarmed  at  the  cures  of  yEsculapius,  who  even 
brought  the  dead  to  life,  and  persuaded  Zeus  to  re- 
move him  from  the  earth  to  the  sky,  where  he  could 
do  no  more  harm.  Not  only  the  cock  but  the  serpent 
was  sacred  to  ^sculapius — in  fact,  the  serpent  was  his 
favorite ;  hence  the  presence  of  Serpens  with  him  in  the 
106 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JULY 

sky.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  Ophiuchus  was  sometimes 
regarded  as  symbolizing  Moses  with  the  Brazen  Ser- 
pent. Serpens  was  also  identified  with  Eve's  tempter 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  For  Dr.  Seiss,  Ophiuchus 
represents  the  Great  Physician  who  was  to  heal  the 
woes  of  mankind. 

Ophiuchus  and  Serpens  contain  many  interesting 
telescopic  objects.  The  star  36  Ophiuchi  is  double; 
magnitudes,  fifth  and  eighth;  distance,  4". 3;  colors, 
yellow  and  red.  Lambda  (\)  Ophiuchi  is  a  close  doub- 
le; magnitudes,  fourth  and  sixth;  distance,  i".  Tau 
(r)  Ophiuchi  is  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  sixth; 
distance,  i".8.  The  star  70  Ophiuchi  is  a  binary,  with 
a  period  of  95  years.  The  magnitudes  are  fourth  and 
sixth ;  distance  (1907),  2" '.75.  This  star  is  one  of  those 
whose  parallaxes  have  been  calculated  with  some  de- 
gree of  accuracy.  Its  distance  appears  to  be  about 
one  and  a  quarter  million  times  the  distance  of  the 
sun.  Ophiuchus  contains  many  small  globular  star- 
clusters.  The  great  new  star  of  1604  appeared  in 
this  constellation.  Beta  Serpentis,  of  the  third  magni- 
tude, has  a  ninth-magnitude  companion,  distant  30". 
Reversing  the  usual  order,  the  colors  in  this  case  are 
bluish  for  the  large  star  and  yellowish  for  the  small 
one.  Theta  Serpentis  is  double;  magnitudes,  fourth 
and  four  and  a  half;  distance,  21". 

Hercules 

(CHART  VII) 

North  of  Ophiuchus,  with  his  feet  towards  the  pole 

and  his  head  towards  the  south,  kneels  Hercules,  "  one 

of  the  oldest  sky  figures,"  says  Mr.  Allen,  "although 

not  known  to  the  first  Greek  astronomers  under  that 

107 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

name."  The  ancients  seem,  indeed,  to  have  felt  that 
there  was  an  unexplained  mystery  connected  with 
this  constellation : 

Near  to  the  Dragon's  head,  in  toil-spent  posture, 
Revolves  a  phantom,  whose  name  none  can  tell, 
Nor  what  he  labors  at.     They  call  him  simply 
The  Man  upon  his  Knees.     His  knees  seem  bent 
In  desperate  struggle,  while  from  both  his  shoulders 
His  hands  are  high  uplifted  and  outspread 
As  far  as  he  can  stretch.     His  right  foot's  sole 
Is  planted  on  the  crest  of  the  coiled  Dragon. 

— Aratus. 


The  constellation  is  not  conspicuous  by  any  es- 
pecial brilliancy  or  striking  arrangement  of  its  stars, 
yet  it  has  borne  many  names  among  many  nations 
from  the  remotest  antiquity.  One  is  tempted  to 
think  that  some  primeval  legend  was  attached  to  it, 
only  indistinct  memories  of  which  have  come  down 
into  historic  time  and  been  preserved.  Some  have 
thought  that  it  represented  the  Chaldean  Ishdubar,  or 
Nimroud,  who  slew  the  dragon  Tiamat.  In  Phoenicia 
it  is  said  to  have  represented  the  god  Melkarth.  It 
was  also,  at  different  times,  identified  with  Ixion, 
with  Prometheus  bound,  and  with  Theseus.  Finally 
all  the  world  settled  down  to  the  belief  that  it  was 
Hercules,  or  Herakles,  translated  to  the  stars.  Era- 
tosthenes seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  fix  this 
name  upon  it.  Some  of  the  inventors  of  Bible  star 
myths  supposed  that  it  represented  Adam.  But 
others  made  the  twins  in  Gemini  Adam  and  Eve.  Dr. 
Seiss  says: 

108 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JULY 

Here  is  the  figure  of  a  mighty  man,  down  on  one  knee, 
with  his  heel  uplifted  as  if  wounded,  having  a  great  club  in 
one  hand  and  a  fierce  three-headed  monster  held  fast  in  the 
other,  whilst  his  left  foot  is  set  on  the  head  of  the  great 
Dragon.  Take  this  figure  according  to  the  name  given  it 
in  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  and  you  have  a  picture  of  Him 
who  cometh  to  bruise  the  Serpent  and  destroy  the  works 
of  the  devil.  In  the  head  of  this  figure  is  a  bright  star, 
the  brightest  in  this  constellation,  which  bears  the  name  of 
Ras-al-gethi,  which  means  the  Head  of  Him  which  Bruises, 
whilst  the  name  of  the  second  star  means  The  Branch  Kneel- 
ing. The  Phoenicians  worshipped  this  man  five  generations 
before  the  time  of  the  Greeks,  and  honored  him  as  repre- 
senting a  Saviour. 


The  star  Alpha  (a)  is,  as  Dr.  Seiss  says,  named  Ras- 
al-gethi.  It  is  of  the  third  magnitude,  and  makes  a 
wide  pair  with  Alpha  Ophiuchi.  Beta  (ft),  of  rather 
above  the  third  magnitude,  bears  the  name  Korne- 
phoros.  The  most  striking  figure  in  the  constellation 
is  a  large  trapezium  marked  out  by  the  stars  Eta  (77) , 
Zeta  (£),  Epsilon  (e),  and  Pi  (TT). 

The  constellation  Hercules  indicates  the  general 
direction  towards  which  the  solar  system  is  flying 
through  space  at  a  speed  of  about  twelve  miles  per 
second.  This  motion,  as  far  as  has  been  ascertained, 
is  in  a  straight  line,  no  proof  of  curvature  having 
been  discovered.  But  Hercules  is  so  distant  that  the 
solar  system,  if  its  great  journey  should  be  unswerv- 
ingly pursued,  would  require  more  than  125,000  years 
to  arrive  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  nearest  star  of 
the  constellation. 

Nearly  on  a  line  between  Eta  and  Zeta  Hercules, 
and  about  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the  former 
109 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

to  the  latter,  a  faint  speck,  barely  visible  to  a  good 
eye,  but  easily  noticeable  with  a  strong  opera-glass 
or  field-glass,  indicates  the  location  of  one  of  the 
supreme  wonders  of  the  universe — the  Great  Star 
Cluster  in  Hercules  (No.  4230,  or  M  13).  Its  glory,  of 
course,  is  only  to  be  seen  and  appreciated  with  the 
aid  of  a  powerful  telescope,  but  a  knowledge  of  its 
situation  in  space  cannot  but  interest  everybody.  I 
recall  a  night  spent  with  Prof.  E.  E.  Barnard  under 
the  dome  of  the  great  Lick  telescope,  when  we  looked 
into  the  heart  of  this  amazing  telescopic  globule  of 
stellar  atoms,  and  seemed  to  see  it  resolved  into 
separate  but  innumerable  stars  to  its  very  centre. 

There  is  no  way  to  describe  such  a  spectacle!  It 
arouses  and  at  the  same  time  daunts  the  imagination. 
One  can  find  no  words  for  it.  More  than  twice  as 
many  stars  as  the  sharpest  eye  can  see  in  the  whole 
heavens  —  northern  and  southern  hemispheres  both 
included — are  there  packed  into  a  space  so  small  to 
our  eyes  that  it  would  not  make  a  visible  speck  on 
the  face  of  the  moon.  It  is,  perhaps,  idle  to  speculate 
on  the  way  in  which  those  thronging  suns  came  to  be 
associated  in  that  manner.  There  they  are — a  per- 
petual challenge  to  man  to  declare,  if  he  knoweth, 
"the  ordinances  of  Heaven  !" 

Hercules  is  full  of  beautiful  double  stars.  Kappa, 
of  the  fifth  magnitude,  has  a  seventh  -  magnitude 
companion  at  a  distance  of  31".  The  colors  are  light 
yellow  and  pale  red.  In  Gamma,  another  double, 
the  magnitudes  are  third  and  ninth;  distance,  38''. 
Alpha  is  a  charming  telescopic  object;  magnitudes, 
third  and  sixth;  distance,  4". 7;  colors,  orange  and 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    JULY 

green.  Delta  combines  a  pale  green  with  a  purple 
star;  magnitudes,  third  and  eighth;  distance,  19". 
Zeta  is  a  close  binary;  magnitudes,  third  and  sixth 
or  seventh;  distance  (1907),  i".2$.  The  period  of 
revolution  of  these  stars  is  35  years.  Rho  (p)  is  a 
beautiful  double;  magnitudes,  fourth  and  sixth;  dis- 
tance, 3^.7 ;  colors,  both  green  or  blue,  but  differing 
in  tone.  The  double  95  is  perhaps  the  most  remark- 
able of  all  in  its  colors.  The  magnitudes  are  fifth 
and  five  and  a  half ;  distance,  6" ;  colors,  according  to 
the  Rev.  T.  W.  Webb,  light  apple-green  and  cherry- 
red. 


IX 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN   AUGUST 

Sagittarius 

(CHART  XI) 

T^O  lie  on  the  warm  sands  of  a  south-fronting  sea- 
1  coast,  or  on  the  deck  of  a  transatlantic  liner, 
on  an  August  evening,  and  watch  the  Milk  Dipper 
in  Sagittarius  ladling  the  golden  flood  of  the  Milky 
Way,  is  a  summer-night's  pleasure  which  reserves  its 
full  enjoyment  for  those  who  know  the  constellations. 
Sagittarius,  the  Archer,  is  the  tenth  constellation  of 
the  zodiac,  and,  like  Scorpio,  lies  low  on  the  southern 
horizon  when  seen  from  median  northern  latitudes. 
It  has  no  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  only  one 
approaching  the  second,  but  the  presence  of  the 
Milky  Way,  branching  on  all  sides  in  luminous  deeps 
and  shallows,  lends  a  certain  splendor  to  the  con- 
stellation through  which  it  flows.  Sagittarius  is  full 
of  star-clusters,  two  of  which  are  visible  to  the  naked 
eye — M  24  and  M  25.  The  former,  which  is  two  or 
three  times  as  broad  as  the  full  moon,  resembles  a 
projection  at  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way.  The  Milk 
Dipper,  with  its  short  handle,  is  outlined  by  the  stars 
Zeta  (£),  Tau  (T),  Sigma  (o-),  Phi  (</>),  Lambda  (X), 

112 


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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    AUGUST 

and  Mu  (^} .  Zeta,  Sigma,  Lambda,  and  Delta  (B)  in- 
dicate the  upturned  bowl  of  a  larger  dipper,  of  which 
Gamma  (7)  may  be  taken  for  the  stump  of  a  handle 
on  the  west.  The  figure  of  the  Archer  is  not  so  evi- 
dent. Sigma,  the  brightest  star  in  the  constellation, 
shines  in  the  shoulder,  Zeta  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
arm,  while  Delta  and  Gamma  indicate  an  arrow  about 
to  be  shot  westward  from  a  bow,  the  outline  of  which 
is  traced  by  Lambda,  Delta,  and  Epsilon  (e).  Eta 
(77),  below  Epsilon,  is  in  the  lower  half  of  the  bow, 
and  Mu  in  its  upper  tip.  Just  above  this  tip  glows 
the  splendid  cluster  M  24.  The  head  of  the  Archer  is 
marked  by  a  group  of  five  stars  ten  degrees  east  of  M  24, 
of  which  the  brightest,  Pi  (TT)  ,  is  of  the  third  magnitude. 

The  Alpha  (a)  and  Beta  (/3)  of  the  constellation,  not 
as  bright  as  some  of  the  stars  in  the  Milk  Dipper  and 
Bow,  lie  too  far  south  to  be  seen  from  the  United  States. 
For  this  reason  a  part  of  the  hind-quarters  and  the 
legs  of  the  Centaur  appear  to  be  cut  off  in  our  figure. 

This  Archer  is  fabled  to  have  been  one  of  the  Cen- 
taurs who  was  killed  by  Herakles  for  attacking  his 
bride.  Herakles  had  poisoned  his  arrow  with  the 
blood  of  the  Lernaean  monster,  so  that  the  Centaur 
could  not  recover  from  the  wound,  although  Zeus  was 
his  friend  and  ^Esculapius  his  physician.  But  Zeus 
did  not  forget  to  translate  him  to  the  sky: 

Midst  golden  stars  he  stands  resplendent  now, 
And  thrusts  the  Scorpion  with  his  bended  bow. 

— Ovid. 

In  China  this  constellation  was  figured  as  a  tiger, 
but  the  ancients  in  general  regarded  it  as  representing 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

a  bowman.  With  the  Jews  it  was  the  bow  of  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh.  Dr.  Seiss  calls  it  "  a  pictorial  prophecy 
of  our  blessed  Lord."  There  is  another  Centaur  in  the 
southern  hemisphere  of  the  sky,  the  mythology  of  which 
has  sometimes  been  confused  with  that  of  Sagittarius. 
The  telescopic  riches  of  Sagittarius  are  especially 
remarkable,  as  already  indicated,  for  the  beautiful 
star-clusters  that  they  include.  Some  of  these  clus- 
ters are  more  wonderful  in  photographs  than  they  ap- 
pear in  the  best  telescopes.  One  of  Barnard's  photo- 
graphs shows,  in  the  cluster  M  8  (also  visible  to  the 
naked  eye  as  a  glimmering  speck),  a  strange  black 
hole  opening  out  like  a  window  into  starless  space 
beyond.  The  cluster  appears  to  be  made  up  of  a 
curious  assemblage  of  star-clouds  and  nebulae. 

Scutum  Sobieskii 

(CHART  XI) 

The  little  constellation  called  Sobieski's  Shield  was 
formed  by  Hevelius  in  honor  of  John  Sobieski  III., 
King  of  Poland.  It  contains  one  fourth  and  five  fifth 
magnitude  stars,  which  Hevelius  regarded  as  "un- 
claimed" by  the  ancient  constellation  -  makers.  It 
lies  between  the  head  of  Sagittarius  and  the  tail  of 
Serpens,  and  is  interesting  only  for  its  star  -  clusters 
and  for  the  brilliancy  of  the  Milky  Way  within  its 
boundaries.  Sir  William  Herschel  estimated  that  it 
contained  more  than  300,000  stars. 

One  of  its  star-clouds,  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  has 

been  photographed  by  Barnard,  and  its  richness  is 

beyond  all  belief.     It  looks  like  a  gathering  of  fiery 

cirrocumuli,  and  yet  it  consists  of  nothing  but  stars. 

114 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    AUGUST 
Aquila 

(CHARTS  XI  AND  XII) 

Northeast  of  Scutum  Sobieskii  flies  Aquila  the 
Eagle.  The  lower  part  of  this  constellation  is  some- 
times called  Antinoiis,  a  name  said  to  have  been 
given  to  it  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian  in  honor  of  his 
favorite  attendant,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Nile, 
and  in  the  representation  of  whose  youthful  beauty 
sculptors  afterwards  contended  so  industriously  that 
they  filled  the  Roman  world  with  his  statues,  vying 
in  grace  with  some  of  the  work  of  their  masters,  the 
Greeks.  Aquila  is  plainly  marked  for  the  naked  eye 
by  its  chief  star,  Altair,  Alpha  (a),  and  its  two 
attendants  placed  one  on  either  side  like  those  of 
Antares.  Altair  is  of  near  the  first  magnitude;  one 
of  its  attendants,  Gamma  (7),  is  of  the  third  magni- 
tude, and  the  other,  Beta  (/3),  of  the  fourth.  Two 
other  third-magnitude  stars,  Delta  (8)  and  Lambda 
(X),  lie  in  a  line  extending  towards  Scutum  Sobieskii. 
Altair  is  in  the  neck  of  the  eagle,  and  Zeta  (£),  of  the 
third  magnitude,  in  its  tail.  The  star  Theta  (0),  of 
the  third  magnitude,  is  in  one  of  the  hands  of  An- 
tinous.  A  more  evident  representation  of  a  spread 
eagle  would  be  made  by  taking  Altair  for  the  head, 
Zeta  and  Theta  for  the  tips  of  the  wings,  and  Delta 
for  the  tail.  The  Milky  Way  is  brilliant  in  Aquila. 

Aquila  appearing  before  the  sun  late  in  the  year  was 
regarded  by  the  ancients  as  a  harbinger  of  tempests — 

.  .  .  dangerous  when  he  rises 

Before  the  dawn,  the  eagle  of  the  winds  men  call  him. 

— Aratus. 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

This  constellation  and  Lyra,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Milky  Way,  are  associated  with  the  curious  Chi- 
nese legend  of  the  Spinning  Damsel  and  the  Magpie 
Bridge,  which  is  also  found  in  Korea.  The  story 
varies,  but  in  substance  runs  as  follows:  A  cowherd 
fell  in  love  with  the  Spinning  Damsel.  Her  father, 
in  anger,  banished  them  both  to  the  sky,  where  the 
cowherd  became  Aquila  and  the  Spinning  Damsel 
Lyra.  But  with  that  tender  regard  for  romance  which 
characterized  the  ancient  powers  that  translated  peo- 
ple to  the  stars,  the  angry  father  decreed  that  the 
lovers  should  meet  once  a  year  if  they  could  con- 
trive to  cross  the  river — the  Milky  Way.  This  they 
were  enabled  to  do  with  the  aid  of  their  friends,  the 
magpies,  who  still  once  a  year,  on  the  seventh  night 
of  the  seventh  moon,  congregate  at  the  crossing-point 
and  form  a  bridge  over  which  the  lovers  pass.  At  the 
end  of  twenty-four  hours  the  bridge  breaks  up,  the 
magpies  return  to  earth,  and  the  lovers  must  wait  an- 
other year  before  meeting  again.  In  Korea,  if  a  mag- 
pie is  seen  about  its  usual  haunts  at  this  time,  the 
children  stone  it  for  shirking  its  duty  when  it  ought 
to  be  helping  to  form  the  bridge  for  the  lovers  in  the 
sky. 

As  Lafcadio  Hearn  found  this  story  during  his  resi- 
dence in  Japan,  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  origin  oi 
the  festival  called  Tanabata,  always  distinctively  a 
woman's  holiday  from  the  earliest  times.  The  name 
of  the  Spinning  Damsel  was  Orihim6,  another  form  oi 
Tanabata,  and  her  lover  was  a  peasant  lad  who,  driv- 
ing an  ox,  one  day  passed  her  loom  and  instantly  wor 
her  heart.  In  the  sky  the  lovers  are  known  as  the 
116 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    AUGUST 

Herdsman  and  the  Weaver,  and  the  popular  legend 
associated  with  the  Tanabata  festival  avers  that  their 
meeting  can  be  observed  by  anybody  with  good  eyes, 
for  whenever  it  occurs  the  lovers'  stars  burn  with  five 
different  colors.  That  is  why  offerings  of  five  colors 
are  made  by  the  celebrants,  and  why  the  poems  which 
are  composed  for  the  occasion  are  written  on  paper 
of  five  different  tints.  The  legend  goes  on  to  say  that 
if  rain  falls  on  the  seventh  night  of  the  seventh  moon, 
the  meeting  cannot  occur,  because  the  heavenly  river 
rises  and  becomes  too  broad  to  be  spanned  by  the 
Magpie  Bridge.  For  this  reason  rain  on  the  Tanabata 
night  is  called  the  Rain  of  Tears. 

In  Greece  and  Rome,  Aquila  was  the  sacred  bird  of 
Jove.  Dr.  Seiss,  connecting  it  with  the  little  constella- 
tion of  Sagitta  the  Arrow,  close  at  hand,  regards  it  as 
symbolical  of  the  Wounded  Prince,  or  Christ  suffer- 
ing for  mankind. 

Pi  (TT)  Aquilas  is  double;  magnitudes,  sixth  and 
seventh;  distance,  i".6.  Eta  (77)  is  a  remarkable 
variable,  changing  from  magnitude  three  and  a  half 
to  magnitude  four  and  a  half,  and  back  again,  every 
seven  days,  four  hours,  and  fourteen  minutes. 

Sagitta 

(CHART  VII) 

The  little  constellation  of  the  Arrow  lies  north  of 
Aquila,  and  consists  of  a  striking  row  of  fourth  and 
fifth  magnitude  stars  running  east  and  west  about 
ten  degrees.  Small  as  it  is,  Sagitta  is  an  ancient 
asterism  known  to  the  Greeks.  Aratus,  referring  to 
the  arrow  of  the  Archer,  says: 
117 


ASTRONOMY  WITH  THE  NAKED  EYE 

Another  arrow  flies  on  high 

Launched  by  no  bow.     Near  it  to  the  north 

Flies  the  Bird. 


This  bird  is  not  Aquila,  but  Cygnus,  to  be  describee 
later.  Eratosthenes  made  Sagitta  the  arrow  of  Apol- 
lo, but  others  before  him  had  identified  it  with  one 
of  the  arrows  of  Herakles  shot  against  the  Stym- 
phalian  birds.  Julius  Schillerius,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  in  his  Cesium  Stellatum  Ckristianum,  repre- 
sented Sagitta  as  the  Spear  of  the  Crucifixion,  which 
recalls  Dr.  Seiss's  idea  about  Aquila  mentioned  above 

The  star  Delta  (8)  is  double ;  magnitudes,  fifth  and 
ninth;  distance,  8". 6. 

Lyra 

(CHART  VII) 

Just  on  the  meridian  northwest  of  Aquila  shines  one 
of  the  most  superb  of  all  the  first-magnitude  stars, 
Vega,  or  Alpha  of  the  Lyre  (Alpha  Lyrae),  of  which 
Burritt  justly  says:  "The  remarkable  brightness  oi 
a  Lyrae  has  attracted  the  admiration  of  astronomers 
in  all  ages." 

The  constellation  Lyra  is  not  large,  but  there  are 
few  which  more  quickly  arrest  the  attention. 

I  saw,  with  its  celestial  keys, 
Its  chords  of  air,  its  frets  of  fire, 
The  Samian's  great  ^olian  lyre, 
Rising  thro'  all  its  sevenfold  bars 
From  earth  unto  the  fixed  stars. 

— Longfellaiv,  Occupation  of  Orion. 
118 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    AUGUST 

This  refers  to  the  old  Greek  legend  associating  the 
harp  in  the  stars  with  the  magic  instrument  with 
which  Orpheus  charmed  stones  and  trees,  and  in- 
vaded the  infernal  regions  in  search  of  his  lost  Euryd- 
ice.  With  the  Persians  it  was  also  a  lyre.  The  an- 
cient Britons  called  it  King  Arthur's  Harp. 

The  principal  star,  Alpha  (a),  or  Vega,  derived 
from  Wega,  a  malformed  Arabic  word,  first  received 
the  name  it  now  bears  in  King  Alfonso's  stellar  tables. 
In  magnitude  it  equals  Arcturus  and  Capella,  being 
only  three -tenths  of  a  magnitude  below  the  zero 
rank.  The  brilliancy  of  its  blue-white  rays  is  aston- 
ishing, and  their  color  is  beautifully  revealed  in  a 
telescope.  Perhaps  it  approaches  nearer  to  the  idea 
of  "a  diamond  in  the  sky"  than  any  other  star.  Its 
actual  magnitude  is  very  great,  probably  a  hundred 
times  that  of  the  sun.  It  belongs  to  the  Sirian  type, 
being  young  in  the  order  of  evolution.  Two  little 
stars  of  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  magnitudes, 
Epsilon  (e)  and  Zeta  (£),  form  a  beautiful  little  tri- 
angle with  Vega,  by  means  of  which  the  beginner 
may  always  recognize  the  latter.  Beta  (yS)  and  Gam- 
ma (7),  about  eight  degrees  below  Vega,  are  of  the 
third  magnitude,  and  mark  the  top  of  the  strings  of 
the  imaginary  harp,  whose  base  is  towards  the  north. 

About  fourteen  thousand  years  ago  Vega  was  the 
north  polar-star,  and,  in  consequence  of  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes,  it  will  occupy  the  same  position 
about  eleven  thousand  years  hence.  It  is  now  more 
than  fifty  degrees  from  the  pole.  According  to  some 
recent  estimates,  the  apex  of  the  Solar  Way — that  is, 
the  direction  of  the  motion  of  the  solar  system — is 
119 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

towards  Lyra.  In  that  case,  half  a  million  years  from 
now  the  earth  may  find  itself  in  the  presence  of  a 
mighty  blue- white  sun,  a  hundredfold  more  brilliant 
than  its  present  orb  of  day.  The  parallax  of  Vega  is 
about  o'.i,  and  the  amount  of  light  that  it  sends  us 
from  its  present  distance  is  about  one  forty-thousand- 
millionth  of  that  received  from  the  sun. 

Lyra  contains  one  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  one 
of  the  third,  five  of  the  fourth,  and  eight  of  the  fifth. 

The  ancient  mythology  of  Lyra  has  already  been 
indicated.  In  Dr.  Seiss's  system  it  symbolized  the 
rejoicing  in  heaven  at  the  final  victory  over  the 
powers  of  evil,  and,  after  his  way,  he  traces  this 
meaning  through  all  the  antique  legends  concerning 
the  Harp. 

Vega  has  a  tenth-magnitude  companion,  distance, 
48",  which  is  a  well-known  test  for  telescopes  of 
moderate  power.  Epsilon  is  a  celebrated  quadruple 
star.  An  opera -glass,  and  some  eyes  without  op- 
tical aid,  separate  it  into  two  nearly  equal  stars  al- 
most touching  each  other.  A  small  telescope  divides 
each  of  these  into  two,  between  2"  and  3"  apart.  A 
more  powerful  glass  shows  two  faint  stars  between 
the  pairs.  These  faint  stars  were  called  by  Sir  John 
Herschel  the  debillissima.  Zeta  is  also  double ;  mag- 
nitudes, fourth  and  sixth;  distance,  44".  Beta  is 
variable,  losing  and  regaining  one  entire  magnitude 
in  a  period  of  twelve  days,  twenty-one  hours,  and 
forty-seven  minutes.  On  a  line  between  Beta  and 
Gamma,  and  about  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the 
first  to  the  second,  is  found  the  celebrated  Ring 
Nebula,  which  a  three-inch  telescope  will  show  as  a 
faint,  minute  circle,  like  a  little  smoke  ring.  This  ring 
has  about  one-thirtieth  the  apparent  diameter  of  the 

120 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    AUGUST 

full  moon  to  the  naked  eye.  Recent  photographs  of 
this  object  reveal  it  as  a  most  wonderful  ring  of  in- 
ter-twisted spirals.  In  the  centre  is  a  small  star  of 
surprising  actinic  power,  since  it  appears  a  hundred 
times  more  conspicuous  in  a  photograph  than  in  a 
telescope. 


CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN   SEPTEMBER 

Cap*icornus 

(CHVRT    XII) 

CAPRICORN,  the  Goat,  is  the  eleventh  constella- 
\^4  tion  of  the  zodiac.  Its  two  leading  stars,  Alpha 
(a) ,  or  Algiedi,  and  Beta  (/3) ,  or  Dabih,  are  seen  just  west 
of  the  meridian  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  isth  of  Septem- 
ber. Before  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  had  car- 
ried the  signs  of  the  zodiac  westward  out  of  the  con- 
stellations with  which  they  were  formerly  identified 
(the  motion  amounts  to  a  little  more  than  50"  per 
year),  the  sun  was  in  Capricornus  at  the  time  of  the 
winter  solstice.  This  is  the  origin  of  Aratus's  lines 
in  the  Phainomena : 

.  .  .  Capricorn,  the  goal  that  turns  the  sun. 
Be  it  ne'er  thy  lot  in  that  month  to  be  tossed 
On  the  mid-ocean ;  neither  by  day 
Far  sailest  thou,  for  few  the  hours  of  light, 
Nor  early  on  thy  peril  breaks  the  dawn, 
For  all  thy  invocations.     Pitiless 
Siroccos  lash  the  main  when  Capricorn 
Lodges  the  sun,  and  Zeus  sends  bitter  cold 
To  numb  the  frozen  sailors. 

— Poste's  translation. 


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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    SEPTEMBER 

At  present  the  sun  does  not  touch  the  constellation 
Capricornus  until  the  middle  of  January,  but  the  de- 
scription of  the  kind  of  weather  prevailing  at  sea 
when  the  sun  is  in  Capricornus  will  still  hold  good, 
as  transatlantic  travellers  know  to  their  cost.  Zeus 
has  not  forgotten  how  to  plague  the  sailors,  and  Nep- 
tune is  unabashed  by  turbines. 

Capricornus  is  not  very  well  marked  out  as  a  figure 
among  the  stars.  Alpha  and  Beta,  of  the  third  mag- 
nitude, are  in  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  Delta  (8),  of 
the  same  magnitude,  is  in  the  hind-quarters.  There 
are,  besides,  seven  fourth  and  ten  fifth  magnitude 
stars  scattered  over  the  constellation. 

In  Grecian  "mythology  Capricornus  occupied  a  con- 
spicuous place  as  the  Gate  of  the  Gods,  it  being  fabled 
that  the  souls  of  men  passed  through  its  stars  on  their 
way  to  a  better  scene.  Berosus,  who,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, predicted  the  destruction  of  the  earth  by 
water,  when  all  the  planets  should  assemble  in  Cancer, 
declared  that  the  globe  would  be  burned  with  fire 
when  a  similar  conjunction  should  take  place  in  Capri- 
corn. So  Berosus,  after  the  manner  of  his  astrological 
brethren,  even  to  the  present  day,  took  good  pains  to 
provide  for  contrary  events  in  his  prognostications. 
He  would  not  let  mankind  escape  either  way. 

According  to  another  legend,  Capricornus  represents 
Pan,  who  one  day,  in  a  frolicsome  mood,  and  he  was 
seldom  long  in  any  other,  jumped  into  the  Nile  and 
transformed  himself,  for  the  amusement  of  the  on- 
looking  gods,  into  a  kind  of  amphibious  monster,  the 
part  of  his  body  under  the  water  assuming  a  fish- 
shape,  while  that  above  water  looked  like  a  goat. 
123 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Zeus  was  so  delighted  that  he  decreed  that  this  form 
should  be  translated  to  the  stars,  whence  the  ancient 
representation  of  Capricornus  as  a  cross  between  a 
goat  and  a  fish.  But  Dr.  Seiss  brings  us  back  to  a 
serious  view  by  averring  that  the  Goat-Fish  shines 
among  the  stars  as  a  symbol  of  sacrifice  and  atonement. 
Both  Alpha  and  Beta  are  naked -eye  doubles — at 
least,  Alpha  is  easily  seen  double,  its  two  stars  being 
6'  apart,  while  an  exceptional  eye  may  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  sixth-magnitude  star  within  3^'  of  Beta.  Each 
of  the  stars  in  Alpha  is  telescopically  double.  In  a1 
the  magnitudes  are  fourth  and  eighth  (distance  44"), 
and  in  a*  third  and  tenth  or  eleventh  (distance,  7". 4). 
A  little  group  of  fifth  and  sixth  magnitude  stars  be- 
low Beta,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Goat,  forms  a  pretty 
sight.  One  of  these,  Rho  (p),  is  an  attractive  double; 
magnitudes,  fifth  and  eighth;  distance,  3". 8.  Three 
of  the  other  stars  in  this  group  are  also  doubles. 

Delphinus 

(CHART  XII) 

A  part  of  the  next  zodiacal  constellation,  Aquarius, 
lies  north  of  the  eastern  half  of  Capricornus,  but  we 
shall  come  to  this  later.  At  present  we  lift  our  eyes 
higher  towards  the  north,  where,  just  east  of  Sagitta, 
we  see  the  remarkable  little  constellation  Delphinus 
(the  Dolphin),  popularly  known  as  Job's  Coffin.  Two 
stars  of  the  third,  two  of  the  fourth,  and  one  of  the 
fifth  magnitude  crowded  closely  together  mark  out 
an  irregular  oblong  figure,  which  is  prolonged  towards 
the  south  by  another  star  of  the  fourth,  one  of  the 
fifth,  and  three  of  the  sixth  magnitude.  The  curved 
124 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    SEPTEMBER 

outline  of  a  dolphin,  with  its  head  uppermost,  is  not 
difficult  to  trace. 

The  tiny  Dolphin  floats  o'er  Capricorn, 
His  middle  dusky,  but  he  has  four  eyes, 
Two  parallel  to  two. 

— Aratus. 

Greek  fable  asserted  that  this  constellation  repre- 
sented the  dolphin  that  bore  Arion  safe  to  land  after 
the  sailors  had  thrown  him  overboard  in  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth.  The  scene  of  this  adventure  was  certainly 
well  chosen,  for  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  seems  to  swarm 
with  dolphins.  I  remember  one  sunshiny  morning 
entering  the  port  of  Itea  on  the  way  to  Delphi,  when 
our  litt!e  steamer  seemed  to  be  escorted  by  dolphins, 
whose  graceful  bodies,  visible  in  the  translucent  sea 
at  a  great  depth,  rose  in  an  endless  procession  to 
throw  glittering  curves  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
at  either  side  of  the  ship. 

Another  ancient  myth  associates  Delphinus  with 
Amphitrite,  the  nereid  whom  a  dolphin  carried  to 
Neptune  to  become  his  bride. 

The  star  Gamma  (7)  is  a  very  charming  double; 
magnitudes,  fourth  and  fifth;  distance,  n";  colors, 
gold  and  emerald.  Both  Alpha  and  Beta  have  faint 
companions,  and  the  larger  star  in  Beta  is  a  binary 
whose  components  are  only  separable  with  very  pow- 
erful telescopes. 

Equuleus 

(CHART  XII) 

The  little  constellation  of  Equuleus,  the  Foal,  south- 
east of  Delphinus,  is  interesting  to  possessors  of  good 
125 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

telescopes  on  account  of  its  many  close  double  and 
triple  stars;  but  to  the  naked  eye  it  offers  no  attrac- 
tion, having  but  one  star  as  bright  as  the  fourth  mag- 
nitude. It  is,  however,  an  ancient  constellation,  and, 
lying  close  by  the  head  of  Pegasus,  was  mythological- 
ly  associated  with  the  winged  horse,  some  asserting 
that  it  represented  the  brother  of  Pegasus,  ridden  by 
Castor,  and  others  that  it  was  the  horse  that  sprang 
forth  from  the  rock  which  Neptune  struck  with  his 
trident  when  he  and  Athene  were  trying  to  outdo 
each  other  in  Olympian  magic. 


Vulpecula. 

(CHART  VII) 

North  of  Delphinus  and  Sagitta  lies  another  small 
constellation,  Vulpecula,  the  Little  Fox.  It  is  one 
of  Hevelius's  constellations,  and  is  too  inconspicuous 
to  deserve  notice  if  it  were  not  included  in  all  celes- 
tial charts  and  star  catalogues.  Although  it  is  35° 
long  from  east  to  west,  and  about  10°  broad,  it  has 
only  one  star  approaching  the  fourth  magnitude  in 
brightness.  Telescopically  it  is  interesting  for  con- 
taining the  celebrated  Dumb-bell  nebula  first  seen  by 
Lord  Rosse  with  his  gigantic  six-foot  reflector,  but 
much  more  fully  revealed  in  modern  photographs.  Its 
photographic  appearance  is  rather  that  of  an  hour- 
glass, and  it  looks  as  though  two  enormous  masses 
were  gradually  separating,  very  much  as  the  moon 
and  the  earth  are  supposed  to  have  separated  when 
their  originally  combined  mass  was  in  a  plastic  state. 
126 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    SEPTEMBER 
Cygnus 

(CHART  VII) 

Again  we  come  to  one  of  the  great  figures  in  the 
stars  which  everybody  can  recognize  at  a  glance — the 
Northern  Cross  in  the  constellation  Cygnus,  the  Swan. 
The  form  of  the  cross  is  evident;  that  of  the  swan 
may  be  recognized  as  soon  as  the  fact  is  pointed 
out  that  the  long  beam  of  the  cross  indicates  the 
out-stretched  neck  of  the  bird,  flying  south  westward, 
while  the  branches  of  the  cross-arm  represent  the 
out-stretched  wings. 

Before  the  time  of  Eratosthenes  (third  century  B.C.) 
the  name  of  this  constellation  among  the  Greeks  was 
simply  the  Bird.  Thus  Aratus  wrote: 

For  heaven's  floor  has  a  fleet-winged  Bird; 

Airy  his  body,  his  wings  roughened 

With  stars,  not  largest  sized  and  yet  not  dim, 

Exulting  in  the  blue  deeps  of  the  sky, 

Down  the  gale  westward  floating,  his  right  pennons  graze 

The  right  hand  of  Cepheus, 

His  left  the  feet  of  prancing  Pegasus. 

— Posters  translation. 

It  was  also  called  the  Hen,  and  in  some  old  celestial 
charts  is  represented  by  the  figure  of  a  motherly  barn- 
yard fowl. 

Its  leading  star,  Alpha  (a),  or  Deneb,  is  sometimes 
ranked  of  the  first  magnitude,  although  its  actual 
brightness  is  considerably  less  than  the  standard.  It 
is  a  sun  of  the  Sirian  type  and  of  great  magnitude. 
The  star  Beta  (/3),  or  Albireo,  in  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
127 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

or  the  beak  of  the  swan,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
doubles  known.  It  is  a  very  easy  object  to  view, 
even  a  strong  binocular  or  field-glass  serving  to  re- 
veal the  fact  that  the  star  is  duplicate.  The  smallest 
telescope  at  once  splits  it  up  into  a  third  and  a  sev- 
enth magnitude  star,  34"  apart,  the  former  light  yel- 
low, the  latter  deep  blue.  The  color  of  the  blue  star 
is  so  pronounced  and  the  contrast  is  so  beautiful  that 
the  effect  produced  upon  the  eye  recalls  that  of  a  pair 
of  skilfully  combined  gems.  Albireo  is  a  favorite  show 
object  for  all  possessors  of  small  telescopes  who  in- 
vite their  friends  to  look  at  the  beauties  of  the  heavens. 
It  resembles  "a  picture  with  a  story"  in  a  connois- 
seur's collection — everybody  can  appreciate  it. 

Another  very  famous  object  in  Cygnus  is  the  little 
star  61,  long  known  as  the  nearest  star  in  the  northern 
hemisphere.  Its  parallax  is  about  o".4,  and,  unlike 
the  other  stars  that  we  have  compared  in  actual  brill- 
iancy with  the  sun,  it  is  relatively  insignificant.  It 
would  take  ten  stars  like  61  Cygni  to  equal  the  sun. 
The  components  are  both  of  the  sixth  magnitude,  and 
their  distance  apart  is  about  20",  so  that  the  smallest 
telescope  suffices  to  separate  them. 

The  Milky  Way  passing  through  Cygnus  adds  to 
the  beauty  of  the  constellation,  and  there  are  many 
splendid  fields  for  the  opera-glass.  In  the  space  be- 
tween Alpha,  Gamma,  and  Epsilon  there  is  a  great 
void  in  the  Milky  Way  known  as  the  Northern  Coal 
Sack,  whose  darkness  is  all  the  more  striking  on  ac- 
count of  the  fact  that  between  Alpha  and  Gamma  lie 
streams  of  minute  stars  of  astonishing  richness  and 
beauty.  Cygnus  is  also  full  of  nebulous  clouds,  some 
128 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    SEPTEMBER 

of  which,  when  photographed,  exhibit  the  most  ex- 
traordinary forms  and  texture.  Among  them  is  one 
appropriately  called  the  Lace  Nebula.  Its  delicate 
streamers  look  like  a  tangle  of  gossamer  threads 
blown  by  the  wind,  with  thousands  of  stars  sprinkled 
about  them.  A  new  star  appeared  in  Cygnus  in  1876, 
afterwards  apparently  changing  into  a  nebula. 

Cygnus  ha?,  in  all,  one  star  of  the  second  magnitude 
approaching  the  first,  five  of  the  third,  fifteen  of  the 
fourth,  and  thirty -four  of  the  fifth.  Owing  to  its 
position  in  the  Milky  Way,  its  sixth-magnitude  stars 
are  very  numerous,  while  for  stars  of  telescopic  mag- 
nitudes there  is  no  richer  region  in  the  heavens. 

Among  the  telescopic  objects  of  this  constellation 
besides  Albireo  and  61  Cygni,  already  described,  may 
be  mentioned  Delta  (S),  a  double  of  magnitudes  third 
and  eighth;  distance,  i".6.  Psi  (ijr)  consists  of  a 
white  star  of  magnitude  five  and  a  half,  combined 
with  a  lilac  star  of  magnitude  seven  and  a  half,  the 
distance  being  3".  Mu  (/A),  of  magnitude  five,  has  a 
blue  companion  of  magnitude  six,  at  a  distance  of 


XI 

CONSTELLATIONS    ON    THE    MERIDIAN    IN    OCTOBER 

Aquarius 

(CHART     XII) 

FOR  some  reason  all  of  the  ancients  imagined  that 
the  part  of  the  sky  occupied  by  Aquarius,  the 
Waterman  or  Water-bearer,  and  its  neighboring  con- 
stellations contained  a  celestial  sea.  Ideler  has  un- 
dertaken to  find  a  reason  for  this  in  the  fact  that 
the  sun  passes  through  that  part  of  the  heavens  dur- 
ing the  rainy  season  of  the  year.  The  constellation 
Aquarius  has  been  represented  by  virtually  the  same 
figure  from  the  days  of  ancient  Babylon.  A  man  is 
seen  pouring  water  from  an  urn.  An  Egyptian  le- 
gend averred  that  the  floods  of  the  Nile  were  caused 
by  the  Water-bearer  sinking  his  huge  urn  into  the 
fountains  of  the  river  to  refill  it. 

Aquarius  is  the  twelfth  constellation  of  the  zodiac, 
lying  immediately  east  of  Capricornus,  but  curving 
round  on  the  north  of  the  latter  to  the  border  of 
Aquila. 

The  constellation  is  not  remarkable  to  the  eye,  as 
it  contains  no  stars  brighter  than  the  third  magnitude. 
There  are  four  or  five  of  about  that  rank:  Alpha  (a), 
130 


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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    OCTOBER 

or  Sadalmelik;  Beta  09),  or  Sadalsuud;  Epsilon  (e), 
or  Al  Bali,  and  Delta  (8),  or  Scheat.  The  larger  part 
of  the  constellation  lies  south  of  the  ecliptic,  and  the 
sun  only  passes  through  its  narrower  northern  portion, 
although  through  the  centre  of  the  figure.  Alpha  is 
in  the  right  shoulder,  and  Beta  in  the  left,  while 
Gamma,  with  a  group  of  smaller  stars  near  it,  marks 
the  overturned  urn.  These  stars  form  a  rather  singu- 
lar Y-shaped  figure,  or  a  triangle,  with  a  relatively 
bright  star  within  it,  by  which  the  constellation  may 
readily  be  recognized. 

In  Greek  mythology  Aquarius  represented  Gany- 
mede, the  cup-bearer  of  the  gods.  It  was  also  identi- 
fied with  Deucalion,  who,  like  Noah,  escaped  from  a 
universal  deluge  and  finally  came  to  dry  ground  on 
the  top  of  Mount  Parnassus.  Aquarius  is  Dr.  Seiss's 
symbol  in  the  stars  of  Him  who  said,  "  If  any  man 
thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink." 

Zeta  (£)  Aquarii  is  a  beautiful  binary ;  magnitudes, 
fourth  and  fourth ;  distance,  3" ;  color  of  both  stars, 
pale  green.  Psi  (-»Jr)  is  double;  magnitudes,  fourth 
and  eighth ;  distance,  50" ;  colors,  yellow  and  blue. 

Piscis  Australts,  or  Austrinus 

(CHART  XII) 

Below  Aquarius  the  eye  is  caught  by  a  conspicuous 
and  lone  first-magnitude  star  named  Fomalhaut,  or 
Alpha  (a)  of  Piscis  Australis,  the  Southern  Fish.  This 
fish  is  very  distinctly  marked  out  by  Fomalhaut  and 
six  or  seven  smaller  stars  arranged  in  a  long  oval  on 
the  west.  Fomalhaut  is  in  the  fish's  mouth.  It  is 
13* 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

one  of  the  four  Royal  Stars,  important  to  navigators, 
and  gains  much  by  its  solitary  situation.  Flaming 
above  the  southern  horizon  on  a  chilly  autumn  night, 
it  attracts  a  degree  of  attention  that  would  not 
be  paid  to  it  if  it  occupied  a  place  in  some  richer 
region  of  the  sky.  It  is  like  a  distant  watch-fire 
gleaming  in  the  midst  of  a  lonely  prairie. 

In  the  traditional  figure  of  this  constellation  the 
fish  is  represented  as  drinking  the  water  poured  out 
of  the  urn  of  Aquarius.  Besides  the  two  names  given 
at  the  head  of  this  section,  it  is  also  sometimes  called 
Piscis  Meridionalis  and  Piscis  Notius.  A  Greek  legend 
associated  it  with  the  story  of  Venus' s  adventure  on 
the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  with  the  giant  Typhon, 
when,  to  escape,  she  changed  herself  and  Cupid  into 
fishes.  Dupuis  identified  it  with  the  Syrian  god 
Dagon.  Dr.  Seiss  sees  in  it  a  symbol  of  the  mystic 
union  of  Christ  with  His  Church. 


Pegasus 

(CHARTS  IV  AND  XII) 

The  great  winged  horse  Pegasus  is  seen  flying 
westward  through  the  sky  above  Aquarius  and  the 
western  fish  in  Pisces.  This  constellation,  howev- 
er, bears  no  resemblance  to  the  outlines  of  a  horse, 
and  strikes  the  eye  only  by  a  large  quadrangular  fig- 
ure called  the  Great  Square  of  Pegasus.  Three  of 
its  stars  are  of  the  second  and  one  of  the  third 
magnitude.  Beginning  at  the  lower  western  corner 
of  the  square  and  running  round  towards  the  left, 
132 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    OCTOBER 

they  are:  Alpha  (a),  also  called  Markab;  Gamma 
(7),  also  Algenib;  Delta  (8),  also  Alpheratz;  and 
Beta  ($),  also  Scheat.  Delta,  or  Alpheratz,  is  com- 
mon to  the  constellations  Pegasus  and  Andromeda, 
and  is  sometimes  assigned  to  one  and  sometimes  to 
the  other.  When  counted  as  an  Andromede,  it  bears 
the  Greek  letter  alpha  (a),  implying  its  leadership  in 
that  constellation.  This  star,  with  Gamma,  or  Al- 
genib, to  the  south,  and  Beta  Cassiopei  to  the  north, 
forms  the  line  of  the  Three  Guides,  thus  named  be- 
cause they  lie  very  nearly  on  the  prime  meridian  of 
the  heavens,  which  passes  through  the  vernal  equi- 
nox, or  first  point  of  Aries,  about  15°  south  of  Al- 
genib. The  broad  area  of  sky  included  within  the 
square  seems  singularly  devoid  of  stars.  In  a  space 
of  more  than  two  hundred  square  degrees  there  are 
only  six  stars  as  bright  as  the  fifth  magnitude.  But 
the  square,  large  as  it  is,  covers  only  the  eastern 
third  of  the  constellation.  The  nose  of  the  imaginary 
horse  is  forty  degrees  west  of  Alpheratz,  outstretched 
as  if  to  touch  the  foal  Equuleus.  The  star  marking 
the  nose,  Epsilon  (e),  bears  the  name  Enif,  derived 
from  an  Arabic  word  for  nose. 

The  mythology  of  Pegasus  is  associated  with  one 
of  the  most  interesting  of  the  ancient  legends  of 
Greece — that  of  the  birth  of  a  white-winged  horse 
from  the  blood  of  Medusa  dropping  into  the  ocean. 
This  horse  became  the  favorite  of  the  Muses  because 
from  his  hoof -print  gushed  their  fountain  on  Mount 
Helicon.  On  another  occasion  when  he  touched  the 
earth  his  magic  hoof  left  a  fountain  called  the  Hip- 
pocrene;  on  the  rocky  hill  of  Acrocorinthus,  and  mod- 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

ern  travellers  may  still  see  this  fountain  full  of  wa- 
ter on  the  very  crest  of  the  vast  rock  which  towers 
eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  neck  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Corinth.  The  figure  of  Pegasus  is  found  on  Corin- 
thian coins  five  hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era.  Longfellow  represents  the  magic  horse  as  pay- 
ing an  unexpected  visit  to  a  quiet  New  England  vil- 
lage and  being  put  into  the  pound  as  an  astray: 

And  the  curious  country  people, 
Rich  and  poor  and  young  and  old, 

Came  in  haste  to  see  this  wondrous 
Winged  steed,  with  mane  of  gold. 

On  the  morrow,  when  the  village 

Woke  to  all  its  toil  and  care, 
Lo!   the  strange  steed  had  departed, 

And  they  knew  not  when  or  where. 

But  they  found  upon  the  greensward, 
Where  his  struggling  feet  had  trod, 

Pure  and  bright  a  fountain  flowing 
From  the  hoof-marks  in  the  sod. 

— Pegasus  in  Pound. 

One  of  the  old  legends  asserts  that  Pegasus,  while 
visiting  the  earth,  was  caught  by  Bellerophon,  who 
rode  him  through  the  air  when  he  went  to  slay  the 
Chimaera.  This  angered  Zeus,  who  hurled  Bellero- 
phon from  his  seat  after  the  conquest  of  the  Chimaera, 
and  never  permitted  Pegasus  to  stray  earthward  again 
— until  the  time  of  Longfellow,  when  there  were  no 
longer  any  heroes  to  ride  him  and  when  only  poets 
could  appreciate  him.  Dr.  Seiss  assures  us,  with 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    OCTOBER 

learned  comments  on  the  ancient  names  of  this  con- 
stellation and  its  stars,  that  Pegasus  was  meant  to 
signify  the  Messenger  of  Glad  Tidings. 

The  star  Epsilon  is  double;  magnitudes,  second 
and  eighth;  distance,  138";  colors,  yellow  and  violet. 
Sir  John  Herschel  discovered  a  curious  telescopic  ex- 
periment which  may  be  tried  with  Epsilon  Pegasi. 
When  the  star  is  on  the  meridian  the  small  component 
is  below  the  brighter  one.  If,  then,  the  tube  of  the 
telescope  is  swung  a  little  from  side  to  side,  the  small 
star  will  appear  to  vibrate  like  the  bob  of  a  pendulum. 
The  suggested  explanation  is  that  the  relative  faint- 
ness  of  the  small  star  causes  it  to  affect  the  sense  of 
vision  less  promptly  than  the  bright  one  above  it,  so 
that  it  lingers  behind  in  the  apparent  motion,  and 
thus  it  seems  to  be  swinging  to  and  fro  with  reference 
to  the  other. 

Lacerta 

(CHART  IV) 

Directly  north  of  Pegasus,  and  just  on  the  me- 
ridian, we  find  the  small  constellation  Lacerta,  the 
Lizard.  Hevelius  formed  it  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. It  contains  two  stars  of  the  fourth  magnitude 
and  ten  of  the  fifth,  but,  although  retained  on  all  celes- 
tial charts,  it  possesses  almost  no  interest,  even  for 
astronomers. 

Cepheus 

(CHART  II) 

Between  Lacerta  and  the  pole  lies  the  first  of  a 
series  of .  constellations,  sometimes  called  the  Royal 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Family,  and  which  commemorates  the  most  roman- 
tic of  all  the  legends  of  ancient  times  inscribed  in  the 
stars — the  story  of  Andromeda  and  her  rescue  from 
the  sea-monster. 

This  constellation,  which  contains  no  star  much 
above  the  third  magnitude,  has,  nevertheless,  attract- 
ed attention  from  the  beginning  of  recorded  history. 

Nor  shall  blank  silence  whelm  the  harassed  house 
Of  Cepheus.     The  high  heavens  know  their  name, 
For  Zeus  is  in  their  line  at  few  removes. 
Cepheus  himself  by  she-bear  Cynosure, 
lasid  king,  stands  with  uplifted  arms. 

— Aratus. 

The  adjective  "lasid"  refers  to  lasion,  the  son  of 
Zeus  and  Electra,  from  whom  Cepheus  was  supposed 
to  be  descended.  Cepheus  was  the  King  of  Ethiopia, 
his  wife  was  the  celebrated  Cassiopeia,  and  his  daugh- 
ter was  the  still  more  celebrated  Andromeda.  Their 
story  will  better  be  told  in  the  next  chapter.  An 
association  has  been  suggested,  through  the  simi- 
larity of  names,  between  Cepheus  and  Cheops,  the 
builder  of  the  Great  Pyramid.  Allen  says  that  in 
China  the  Inner  Throne  of  the  Five  Emperors  was 
located  somewhere  in  this  constellation.  For  Dr. 
Seiss  the  story  of  Cepheus  and  his  constellation  rep-i 
resents  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer  as  king. 

The  star  Alpha  (a),  of  between  the  second  andj 
third  magnitudes,  bears  the  name  Alderamin,  and! 
marks  the  right  shoulder.  This  will  be  the  north-pole 
star  for  our  descendants  about  5600  years  hence. 

Beta   (/3),  Alfirk,  is  a  telescopic  double;   magni- 
136 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    OCTOBER 

tudes,  third  and  eighth:  distance,  13";  colors,  white 
and  blue.  Delta  (8)  is  double ;  magnitudes,  four  and 
a  half  and  seventh;  distance,  41";  colors,  yellow  and 
cerulean  blue  In  the  double  Xi  (£)  the  magnitudes 
are  fifth  and  seventh;  distance,  5"  8;  colors,  white 
and  blue  or  lilac.  The  star  Mu  (^)  is  famous  as  Sir 
William  Herschel's  "garnet  star."  Its  color,  evi- 
dent with  a  glass,  is  sensible  to  the  naked  eye.  It 
is  a  variable,  changing  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth 
magnitude  in  a  period  of  five  or  six  years.  Many 
small  meteors  radiate  from  Cepheus  during  the  mid- 
dle and  latter  part  of  June. 


XII 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN   IN   NOVEMBER 

Pisces 

(CHARTS  IV,  VIII,  AND  XI) 

PISCES,  the  Fishes,  is  the  leading  constellation  of 
the  zodiacal  circle,  the  precession "  of  the  equi- 
noxes having  brought  it  into  the  position  originally 
occupied  by  the  first  sign  of  the  zodiac — viz.,  Aries. 
The  vernal  equinox,  or  the  point  where  the  sun  crosses 
the  equator  coming  northward  in  the  spring,  is  situated 
in  Pisces.  This  is  the  "Greenwich  of  the  sky,"  from 
whose  longitude  the  right  ascension  of  all  the  stars 
is  reckoned.  It  is,  of  course,  a  crossing-point  of  the 
ecliptic  and  the  equator,  but  this  important  spot  is 
not  marked  by  any  conspicuous  star,  nor  even  by  any 
noticeable  grouping  of  stars. 

It  may  be  well  to  say  here  that  usually  a  distinction 
is  observed  in  speaking  of  the  zodiacal  signs  and  the 
zodiacal  constellations,  the  former,  notwithstanding 
their  westward  drift,  indicating  the  true  divisions 
of  the  zodiac,  while  the  constellations  change  their 
places  on  this  framework.  Reckoned  in  this  way, 
Pisces  is  the  first  constellation  of  the  zodiac,  since  it 
13* 


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CONSTELLATIONS    IN    NOVEMBER 

now  occupies  the  place  of  the  first  sign;  Aries  is  the 
second,  Taurus  the  third,  Gemini  the  fourth,  Cancer 
the  fifth,  Leo  the  sixth,  Virgo  the  seventh,  Libra  the 
eighth,  Scorpio  the  ninth,  Sagittarius  the  tenth,  Capri- 
cornus  the  eleventh,  and  Aquarius  the  twelfth. 

The  constellation  Pisces  is  inconspicuous  to  the 
eye,  but  it  occupies  an  enormous  territory,  some  fifty 
degrees  from  east  to  west,  and  more  than  thirty  de- 
grees in  its  extreme  north  and  south  extension.  The 
two  fishes  are  represented  as  tied  by  the  tails  to  the 
ends  of  a  long  ribbon,  the  course  of  which  is  fairly 
well  marked  by  streams  of  stars,  only  one  of  which, 
occupying  a  knot  near  the  middle  of  the  ribbon,  rises 
to  the  third  magnitude.  This  is  the  Alpha  (a),  or 
leader,  of  the  constellation,  and  is  often  called  Al 
Rischa,  and  sometimes  Nodus.  There  are  eleven 
fourth-magnitude  stars  in  the  constellation,  and  eigh- 
teen of  the  fifth  magnitude.  Professor  Sayce  thinks 
that  the  double  form  of  this  constellation  owes  its 
origin  to  the  extra  month  which  was  inserted  into  the 
Babylonian  calendar  every  six  years  to  make  up  for 
the  fact  that  the  year  was  divided  into  three  hundred 
and  sixty  days.  Like  Piscis  Australis,  this  constella- 
tion was  associated  with  the  story  of  Venus  changing 
herself  and  Cupid  into  fishes  to  escape  the  pursuit  of 
Typhon.  Aratus's  description  of  Pisces  indicates  that 
in  his  time  the  representation  of  the  two  fishes  was 
the  same  as  in  our  charts : 

Westward,  and  further  in  the  south-wind's  path, 
The  Fishes  float;   one  ever  uppermost 
First  hears  the  boisterous  coming  of  the  north. 
Both  are  united  by  a  band. 
139 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Their  tails  point  to  an  angle 

Filled  by  a  single  goodly  star, 

Called  the  Conjoiner  of  the  Fishes'  Tails. 

— The  Phainowiena. 

Three  conjunctions  of  the  planets  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  took  place  in  Pisces  in  the  year  which  was 
formerly  assigned  as  that  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  and 
this  has  led  to  much  mystical  speculation  concerning 
the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  Mr.  Allen  remarks  that  the 
conjunctions  just  spoken  of  strikingly  agree  in  some 
of  their  details  with  St.  Matthew's  account  of  the 
mysterious  star.  Kepler,  and  Encke  long  after  him, 
advocated  the  idea  that  this  was  in  reality  the  celes- 
tial sign  followed  by  the  magi,  but  the  revision  of 
the  Christian  era  throws  the  date  of  the  conjunctions 
four  years  out.  In  1881  Jupiter  and  Saturn  were  again 
in  conjunction  in  Pisces,  and  the  fact  was  not  lost 
sight  of  by  those  (and  they  were  not  few,  even  in  this 
age  of  science)  who  thought  that  that  year  was  the 
epoch  of  the  new  dispensation  and  the  sign  of  the 
millennium.  Piazzi  Smyth's  curious  measurements  in 
the  passages  and  chambers  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  and 
the  still  more  curious  conclusions  that  he  drew  from 
them,  added  force  to  the  superstition  with  which  the 
advent  of  the  year  1881  was  greeted.  Dr.  Seiss 
avers  that  Pisces  symbolizes  "  the  two-foldness  of  the 
Church." 

The  star  Alpha  is  a  beautiful  double;  magnitudes, 
fourth  and  fifth ;  distance,  3" ;  colors,  greenish- white 
and  blue.  The  star  55  is  double;  magnitudes,  fifth 
and  eighth;  distance,  6". 6;  colors,  yellow  and  deep 
blue.  Psi  (i/r)  consists  of  two  fifth-magnitude  stars; 
140 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    NOVEMBER 

distance,  30".     In  the  double  Zeta  (£)  the  magnitudes 
are  fifth  and  sixth;  distance,  24". 

Andromeda 

(CHART  IV) 

Lifting  our  eyes  directly  overhead,  we  see  the 
Chained  Maiden,  Andromeda.  The  constellation  is 
centrally  on  the  meridian  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  mid- 
dle of  November.  If  Orion  is  the  most  brilliant  of  the 
constellations,  Andromeda  is  the  most  romantic.  It 
requires  some  effort  to  recognize  the  form  of  the 
celebrated  heroine  among  the  stars,  but  her  story 
shines  by  reflection  in  all  literatures. 

The  fact  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  star 
Alpheratz,  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Great 
Square  of  Pegasus,  indicates  the  head  of  Andromeda. 
Three  other  conspicuous  stars,  the  first  of  the  third 
magnitude  and  the  other  two  of  the  second,  stretch- 
ing in  a  long  row  northeastward  from  Alpheratz, 
mark  the  central  line  of  the  constellation.  The  first  of 
these  stars,  Delta  (8),  is  in  the  left  breast;  the  second, 
Beta  OS),  or  Mirach,  is  in  the  girdle;  and  the  third, 
Gamma  (7),  or  Almaak,  marks  the  left  foot,  or  left 
knee,  according  as  the  figure  is  drawn.  A  group  of 
three  fourth  -  magnitude  stars  and  one  of  the  fifth 
magnitude,  about  fifteen  degrees  north-northwest  of 
Alpheratz,  shows  the  right  hand  chained  to  the  rock, 
while  the  left  elbow  is  indicated  by  a  fourth-magni- 
tude star  about  eight  degrees  below  Delta.  North- 
west of  Mirach  are  two  fourth-magnitude  stars,  also 
in  the  girdle,  which  serve  as  pointers  to  the  glori- 
141 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

ous  Andromeda  nebula,  which  may  be  caught  as  a 
mere  wisp  of  light  by  the  naked  eye.  It  is  near  the 
northernmost  of  the  two  stars.  Photographs  of  this 
nebula  present  a  spectacle  that  defies  description. 
It  consists  of  a  vast  oblong  central  mass,  the  outer 
portion  of  which  shows  longitudinal  gaps,  and  in  one 
part  a  breaking -up  into  cumuli,  while  all  around 
are  ranged,  ring  within  ring,  great  luminous  ellipses, 
some  of  which  seem  to  be  contracting  into  globular 
forms.  If  Laplace  could  have  seen  these  photographs 
he  would  have  thought  that  the  heavens  had  pro- 
duced for  him  an  irrefragable  witness  to  the  truth 
of  his  nebular  hypothesis  of  the  origin  of  worlds. 
More  truly  descriptive  of  this  nebula  than  of  the  con- 
stellation (although  he  did  not  know  it)  is  Kingsley's 
line — 

Spreading  thy  long  white  arms  all  night  in  the  heights  of  the 
ether. 

A  new  star  blazed  out  in  the  nebula  in  1885,  and 
remained  visible  with  telescopes  for  a  year. 

Although  the  Greek  poetess  Sappho  referred  to 
Andromeda,  and  although  both  Euripides  and  Soph- 
ocles wrote  dramas  about  her,  we  must  probably, 
says  Mr.  Allen,  seek  her  origin  far  back  of  classical 
times,  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 

The  myth  of  Andromeda  relates  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Cepheus  and  Cassiopeia,  king  and  queen 
of  Ethiopia.  Cassiopeia  offended  Neptune  by  boast- 
ing herself  as  fairer  than  the  sea -nymphs,  and  he 
sent  a  sea-monster  to  ravage  the  kingdom.  An  ap- 
peal was  made  to  the  oracle  of  Zeus  at  Ammon,  but 
142 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    NOVEMBER 

the  only  relief  obtained  was  a  decree  that  the  king- 
dom should  be  saved  if  the  Princess  Andromeda  were 
given  as  a  prey  to  the  sea-monster.  She  was  taken  to 
the  sea-shore  and  chained  to  a  rock.  The  location  is  as 
fleeting  as  that  of  Shakespeare's  island  in  "  The  Tem- 
pest," but  Josephus  declared  that  in  his  time  the  marks 
of  Andromeda's  chains  were  to  be  seen  on  the  rocks 
near  Joppa,  and  that  near  by  on  the  shore  the  bones 
of  the  sea-monster  were  still  shown.  Awaiting  her 
fate,  and  abandoned  by  her  royal  relatives,  Androm- 
eda remained  by  the  shore  until  a  rushing  sound 
and  the  flight  of  frightened  birds  told  her  that  the 
monster  was  approaching.  She  hid  her  eyes,  trem- 
bling, when  suddenly, 

Like  peal  of  thunder  from  unclouded  sky, 
A  sudden  neighing  rolls  and  echoes  nigh. 
Her  eyes  unclose ;   horror  and  joy  are  one, 

For  she  beholds,  in  whirling  flight  and  free, 
The  winged  horse,  upbearing  Zeus's  son, 

Throw  his  vast  shade  of  azure  on  the  sea. 

It  was  Perseus,  mounted  on  Pegasus,  returning 
from  the  conquest  of  the  Gorgon  Medusa.  His  dia- 
mond-hilted  sword  glittered  as  he  darted  upon  the 
monster  and  transfixed  him.  But,  according  to  some 
accounts,  he  only  gained  the  victory  by  holding  before 
the  eyes  of  the  monster  the  bleeding  head  of  Medusa, 
the  sight  of  which,  with  its  snaky  locks,  froze  all  who 
looked  upon  it  into  stone. 

The  sea -monster  having  been  destroyed,  Perseus 
unchained  the  maiden  and  conducted  her  back  to 
her  father's  court.  The  reward  of  his  valor  was  the 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

traditional  one  in  all  such  cases — he  received  the 
hand  of  the  rescued  maiden  in  marriage. 

When  the  happy  lives  of  all  the  actors  in  this  drama 
were  ended,  Zeus,  not  sorry,  perhaps,  to  thwart  Nep- 
tune, played  his  customary  part  by  translating  them 
to  the  stars : 

And  there,  a  woful  statue  form,  is  seen 

Andromeda,  parted  from  her  mother's  side.     Long,  I  trow, 

Thou  wilt  not  seek  her  in  the  nightly  sky, 

So  bright  her  head,  so  bright 

Her  shoulders,  feet,  and  girdle. 

Yet  even  there  she  has  her  arms  extended, 

And  shackled,  even  in  heaven;  uplifted, 

Outspread  eternally,  are  those  fair  hands. 

— Aratus. 

But  other  poets  assert  that  Zeus  was  so  delighted 
with  the  triumph  of  his  son  that  he  did  not  wait  for 
death  in  this  case,  so  that  Perseus  and  Andromeda 
had  the  peculiar  happiness  of  seeing  their  new-made 
constellations  blazing  overhead,  as,  on  Pegasus's 
back,  they  flew  away  from  the  scene  of  the  encounter. 

The  splendent  winged  horse  in  noiseless  flight, 
From  out  his  nostrils  blowing  clouds  of  fume, 
Bears  them,  with  quivering  of  his  every  plume, 
Across  the  starry  ether  and  blue  night. 
Like  two  enormous  cloaks  the  wind  swells  wide 
The  pinions,  which,  as  through  the  stars  they  glide, 
Keep  the  clasped  lovers  nested  from  the  cold, 
While  as  their  throbbing  shadows  they  descry, 
From  Aries  to  Aquarius  they  behold 
Their  constellations  flaming  in  the  sky. 

— Jos6  M.  Heredia  ( Taylor's  trans.). 
144 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    NOVEMBER 

Having  thus,  as  it  were,  seen  their  own  obituaries 
spread  upon  the  evening  edition  of  The  Universe  by 
the  hand  of  Jove  himself,  they  retired  to  Queen  Cas- 
siopeia's court,  and  to  their  first-born  was  given  the 
name  Perses,  from  whom  the  proud  Persian  kings, 
many  centuries  afterwards,  boasted  their  descent. 

In  Dr.  Seiss's  mythology  Andromeda  and  Cassiopeia 
were  both  intended  for  prophetic  symbols  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

The  star  Gamma,  in  the  maiden's  foot,  is  perhaps 
the  most  beautiful  triple  star  in  the  heavens.  Any 
fairly  good  telescope  shows  that  it  consists  of  a  golden 
yellow  and  a  deep-blue  star,  of  magnitudes  third  and 
sixth,  10"  apart,  but  a  very  powerful  glass  shows 
that  the  smaller  star  is  itself  double,  having  an  eighth- 
magnitude  companion,  which  has  sometimes  been 
described  as  green.  This  is  a  binary  pair,  and  the 
distance,  in  1907,  was  o".48.  In  1893  it  was  only 
o".i7. 

Cassiopeia 

(CHART  II) 

Zeus  gave  to  Andromeda's  mother  a  more  beautiful 
constellation  than  that  which  he  assigned  to  her.  It 
lies  between  the  constellations  of  Andromeda  and  her 
father,  Cepheus,  and  is  conspicuously  marked  by  five 
bright  stars  forming  an  irregular  letter  "  W,"  with  the 
open  part  turned  towards  the  pole.  It  is  situated  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  pole  from  the  Great  Dipper, 
so  that  when  one  rises  the  other  sinks,  and  vice  versa. 
These  stars  are  Alpha  (a),  Beta  (/8),  Gamma  (7), 
Delta  (8),  and  Epsilon  (e).  A  straight  line  drawn 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

from  Zeta  (£)  Ursas  Majoris  through  Polaris  hits 
Delta  Cassiopeiae.  The  true  pole  is  situated  about  a 
degree  and  a  quarter  from  Polaris  on  the  side  towards 
Ursa  Major.  Thus  the  position  of  the  pole  can  be 
ascertained  with  approximate  accuracy  at  any  hour 
of  the  night. 

Some  of  the  Greeks  called  the  constellation  the 
Laconian  Key,  from  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  figure 
already  described.  This  is  the  origin  of  Aratus's  de- 
scription : 

Heaven-troubled  queen,  with  scanty  stars, 

But  lustrous  in  the  full-mooned  night,  sits  Cassiopeia. 

Not  numerous,  nor  double-rowed, 

The  gems  that  deck  her  form, 

But  like  a  key  which  through  an  inward-fastened 

Folding-door  men  thrust  to  knock  aside  the  bolts, 

They  shine  in  single  zig-zag  row. 

— The  Phainomena. 

Several  of  the  stars  in  the  "W,"  or  the  Key,  have 
individual  names.  Alpha  is  Schedar,  Beta  is  Caph, 
and  Delta  is  Ruchbar.  Theta  (0)  in  the  queen's  el- 
bow is  Marfak.  The  fourth-magnitude  star  Kappa 
(K)  is  interesting  as  indicating  the  place  in  the  sky 
(about  i°  north  of  Kappa)  where  the  famous  new 
star  of  Tycho  Brahe  suddenly  blazed  out  in  the  year 
1572.  This  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  temporary 
stars  on  record,  and  attempts  have  been  made  to 
associate  it  with  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  on  the  sup- 
position that  it  appeared  in  945  and  1264,  and  has, 
therefore,  a  period  exceeding  three  centuries,  so  that 
one  of  its  epochs  of  visibility  would  fall  about  the 
146 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    NOVEMBER 

time  of  the  birth  of  Christ.  But  it  has  never  been 
seen  since  it  faded  from  sight  in  Tycho's  day,  al- 
though a  small  telescopic  star  close  to  the  place  which 
it  occupied  has  been  suspected  of  identity  with  it. 
This  star  is  the  Al  Aaraaf  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe's  poem: 

Dim  was  its  little  disk,  and  angel  eyes 
Alone  could  see  the  phantom  in  the  skies 
When  first  Al  Aaraaf  knew  her  course  to  be 
Headlong  thitherward  o'er  the  starry  sea. 

Beta  and  Gamma  are  of  the  second  magnitude; 
Alpha,  Delta,  and  Epsilon  of  the  third.  In  all,  Cas- 
siopeia contains  two  stars  of  the  second  magnitude, 
three  of  the  third,  six  of  the  fourth,  and  twenty-one 
of  the  fifth,  or  near. 

The  constellation  is  rich  in  telescopic  objects. 
Sigma  (?)  consists  of  two  stars,  one  blue,  the  other 
greenish;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  seventh;  distance, 
3".  Eta  (77),  of  magnitudes  fourth  and  seventh,  con- 
sists of  a  white  and  a  purple  component;  distance, 
5".  Iota  (t)  is  a  beautiful  triple;  magnitudes,  fourth, 
seventh,  and  eighth;  distances,  2"  and  7". 5.  There 
are  many  telescopic  star-clusters  in  the  constellation. 


XIII 

CONSTELLATIONS   ON   THE   MERIDIAN    IN   DECEMBER 

Aries 

(CHART  IV) 

A^IES,  the  Ram,  is  the  second  constellation  of  the 
zodiac.  As  before  remarked,  Aries  is  the  first  sign, 
and  this  sign  has  now  drifted  back  into  the  constella- 
tion Pisces.  The  Ram  is  a  small  constellation,  only 
some  twenty-five  degrees  in  its  extreme  length,  lying 
between  the  northern  fish  of  Pisces  and  the  Pleiades 
in  Taurus.  Two  stars  in  the  head,  Alpha  (a),  or 
Hamal,  and  Beta  (ft),  or  Sheratan,  are  its  only  con- 
spicuous brilliants.  They  are  in  the  western  part  of 
the  constellation.  Gamma  (7),  or  Mesarthim,  a  lit- 
tle below  Sheratan,  is  of  the  fourth  magnitude.  The 
tail  is  indicated  by  a  group  of  three  fourth  and  two 
Tifth  magnitude  stars  about  ten  degrees  south  of  west 
fiom  the  Pleiades. 

In  mythology  this  was  the  ram  of  the  Golden 
Fleece. 

The  princely  Ram,  glittering  in  golden  wool. 

— Maniliits. 

He  flew  from  Colchis  with  Phrixus  and  his  sister 
Helle  on  his  back,  but  Helle's  head  was  giddied  by 
148 


• 


340  CT.ir  330 


rscES 


10 


* 


m         cxif.         m 


SU, 


Chart  XII 

w 

HEll| 

• 

i 


F 


»r 


-I 


•UARRJS 


• 


Vanabiles 


CONSTELLATIONS 

the  swift  motion,  and  she  fell  off  and  was  drowned 
in  the  narrow  sea  now  called  the  Hellespont.  Aries 
has  also  been  associated  with  the  story  of  the  ram  into 
which  Zeus  changed  himself  to  escape  the  pursuit  of 
the  giants.  He  fled  to  Egypt,  and  there  the  con- 
stellation was  called  Jupiter  Ammon.  But  in  Chal- 
dea,  where  it  is  supposed  to  have  had  its  origin,  this 
celestial  ram  was  simply  representative  of  the  favorite 
animal  of  the  shepherds,  and  was  selected  as  the 
leader  of  the  zodiac,  a  position  which  he  has  ever 
since  retained.  The  star  Sheratan  marked  the  vernal 
equinox  in  the  time  of  Hipparchus.  Aries  bore  many 
titles  indicative  of  its  rank  as  leader  of  the  year  in 
ancient  times.  It  was  called  Prince  of  the  Zodiac, 
Prince  of  the  Celestial  Signs,  and  Leader  of  the  Host 
of  the  Zodiac.  The  history  of  the  constellation  ap- 
pears to  run  far  back  of  the  time  when  the  preces- 
sion of  the  equinoxes  had  placed  it  at  the  head  of  the 
monthly  signs.  Berosus,  who  was  priest  of  Belus  at 
Babylon  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
whose  predictions  about  the  destruction  of  the  world 
we  have  noticed,  said  that  the  ancients — i.  e.,  those 
who  were  ancient  to  him — believed  that  the  world 
was  created  whqn  the  sun  was  in  the  constellation 
Aries.  This  was  long  before  Aries  had  assumed  the 
leadership  which  (as  a  constellation,  not  as  a  sign) 
it  has  since  lost.  Dr.  Seiss  naturally  finds  in  Aries 
a  symbol  of  the  Lamb  of  the  World.  What  he  says 
of  the  ancient  worship  of  Aries  is  interesting: 

The  Egyptians  celebrated  a  sacred  feast  to  the  Ram  upon 
the  entrance  of  the  sun  into  the  sign  of  Aries.     They  pre- 
pared for  it  before  the  full  moon  next  to  the  spring  equinox, 
149 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

and  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  that  moon  all  Egypt  was  in 
joy  over  the  dominion  of  the  Ram.  The  people  crowned 
the  lamb  with  flowers,  carried  him  with  extraordinary  pomp 
in  grand  processions,  and  rejoiced  in  him  to  the  utmost. 
The  ancient  Persians  had  a  similar  festival  of  Aries.  For 
all  this  it  is  hard  to  account  except  in  connection  with  what 
was  prophetically  signified  by  Aries. 

The  star  Gamma,  or  Mesarthim,  was  the  first  double 
star  discovered.  Robert  Hooke,  following  a  comet 
with  his  telescope  in  1664,  happened  to  pass  over 
Mesarthim,  and  was  astonished  to  see  it  double.  The 
magnitudes  are  fourth  and  fourth;  distance,  8". 5. 
Lambda  is  a  wide  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and 
eighth;  distance,  37";  colors,  white  and  lilac.  Epsi- 
lon  is  a  close  double;  magnitudes,  fifth  and  sixth; 
distance,  i".25. 

Triangulum 

(CHART  IV) 

The  little  constellation  called  the  Triangle,  north- 
west of  Aries,  and  near  the  feet  of  Andromeda,  is  very 
ancient.  Aratus  calls  it  Deltoton,  from  its  resem- 
blance to  the  Greek  delta  (A).  The  corners  of  the 
elongated  triangle  are  marked  by  the  stars  Alpha, 
Beta,  and  Delta.  Beta  is  of  the  third  magnitude, 
and  Alpha  and  Delta  are  of  the  fourth.  Alpha,  no 
doubt,  has  faded.  The  first  asteroid  to  be  discovered, 
Ceres,  was  found  in  Triangulum  in  the  year  1801. 

Perseus 

(CHARTS  II  AND  IV) 

The  constellation  Perseus  brings  us  back  to  the 
Royal  Family  of  the  sky. 

150 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    DECEMBER 

He  in  the  north-wind  stands  gigantic, 

His  right  arm  stretched  towards  the  throne 

Where  sits  the  mother  of  his  bride.     As  one  bent  on  some 

high  deed, 
Dust-stained  he  strides  over  the  floor  of  heaven. 

— Aratus. 

The  dust  that  sparkles  on  the  hero's  armor  consists 
of  the  powdered  starlets  of  the  Milky  Way,  which  is  no- 
where richer  than  here.  Perseus  was  a  celebrated  hero 
before  he  rescued  Andromeda.  His  conquest  of  the 
Gorgon  Medusa  is  one  of  the  finest  stories  of  Greek 
mythology.  The  son  of  Zeus  and  Danag,  he  became 
the  favorite  of  the  gods.  When  others  were  contend- 
ing with  rare  gifts  for  the  favor  of  King  Polydectes,  at 
whose  court  he  lived,  Perseus  sought  to  outdo  them 
all  by  bringing  the  head  of  Medusa  to  throw  at  the 
king's  feet.  It  was  an  adventure  worthy  of  Hercules, 
and  to  undertake  it  with  any  chance  of  success  he 
had  to  borrow  the  helmet  of  invisibility  from  the  god 
of  the  lower  world,  the  sandals  of  swiftness  from 
Hermes,  and  the  buckle  of  wisdom  from  Athene. 
Furnished  also  with  a  magic  sword  set  with  dia- 
monds, and,  according  to  some,  riding  Pegasus,  loaned 
by  Zeus,  he  hastened  to  the  encounter.  Even  then 
he  would  have  failed,  and  have  been  turned  to  stone 
by  the  petrifying  glances  of  the  Gorgon,  had  not 
Athene's  polished  buckle  served  as  a  mirror  in  which 
he  could  see  his  enemy  without  facing  her.  With  a 
backward  stroke  he  severed  Medusa's  terrible  head, 
with  its  hissing  snakes  for  hair,  and  was  on  his  way 
to  bestow  the  dreadful  gift  upon  King  Polydectes, 
when  he  chanced  to  espy  Andromeda  in  her  plight, 


ASTP.ONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

and  stopped  for  another  and  a  more  romantic  ex- 
ploit. 

Perseus  still  carries  Medusa's  head,  which  is  repre-  j 
sented  in  the  sky  by  a  group  of  five  or  six  stars,  the 
largest  of  which  is  the  celebrated  Algol,  the  so-called 
Demon  Star,  or  the  Winking  Demon,  which  every  two 
days,  twenty  hours,  and  forty-nine  minutes  suddenly ! 
begins  to  fade  away,  until,  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  hours,  it  loses  four-fifths  of  its  light.     A  fewj 
minutes  later  it  begins  to  brighten,  and  in  the  course  I 
of  the  next  three  or  four  hours  it  regains  all  of  its 
former  brilliancy.     When  at  its  brightest,  Algol  is 
nearly  of  the  second  magnitude;  when  faintest,  it  is 
not  far  above  the  fourth.     The  cause  of  these  singular  j: 
variations  has  been  shown  to  be  an  enormous  darkj 
body,  as  large  as  our  sun,  revolving  around  Algol  at  a 
distance  of  only  about  three  million  miles,  and  regu- 
larly eclipsing  it,  as  seen  from  the  earth.     The  en- 
tire course  of  the  changes  undergone  by  Algol  can  be 
watched  with  the  naked  eye. 

Among  the  Hebrews,  Algol  was  said  to  represent 
Adam's  mysterious  first  wife,  Lilith,  but  it  is  only  a 
matter  of  guesswork  that  this  identification  had  any 
connection  with  the  star's  strange  variability. 

On  February  22,  1901,  a  marvellous  new  star 
discovered  by  Dr.  Anderson,  of  Edinburgh,  not  very 
far  from  Algol.  No  star  had  been  visible  at  that  point 
before.  Within  twenty-four  hours  the  stranger  haq 
become  so  bright  that  it  outshone  Capella.  In 
week  or  two  it  had  visibly  faded,  and  in  the  course  ojj 
a  few  months  it  was  hardly  discernible  with  the  naked 
eye.  Its  decline  continued,  and  by  the  end  of  th<) 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    DECEMBER 

year  it  could  only  be  seen  with  telescopes.  The  next 
year  the  star  underwent  a  wondrous  transformation. 
Its  spectrum  assumed  the  nebular  type,  and  great 
nebulous  rings  or  spirals  were  photographed  around 
it.  Still  later  it  resumed  the  stellar  type,  and  it  is 
still  (1908)  visible  as  a  star  of  the  ninth  or  tenth 
magnitude.  The  career  of  this  star  recalls  that  of 
Tycho  which  blazed  out  in  Cassiopeia  in  1576.  In 
both  cases  the  collision  hypothesis  has  been  suggested 
to  account  for  the  marvel.  The  eccentric  changes 
undergone  by  Nova  Persei,  alternately  fading  and 
brightening  —  while,  upon  the  whole,  losing  light — 
have  been  regarded  by  some  as  indicating  that  a  star 
had  run  into  a  nebula  or  a  vast  cloud  of  meteoric 
matter,  the  successive  collisions  producing  the  out- 
bursts of  light.  Like  all  variable  and  temporary 
stars,  Nova  Persei  turned  red  as  it  faded. 

Algol  bears  the  Greek  letter  beta  (/3)  in  the  con- 
stellation Perseus.  The  Alpha  of  the  constellation  is 
situated  about  ten  degrees  northerly  from  Algol,  in 
the  midst  of  a  curved  row  of  stars  embedded  in  the 
Milky  Way  and  marking  the  armor-clad  body  of  the 
hero.  Alpha's  distinctive  name  is  Algenib.  Follow- 
ing the  course  of  the  Milky  Way  towards  Cassiopeia, 
the  eye  is  caught  by  a  sparkling  patch  which  an  opera- 
glass  will  resolve  into  a  swarm  of  minute  stars.  This 
indicates  the  hand  in  which  Perseus  bears  the  dia- 
mond-hilted  sword.  This  object  is  sometimes  called 
Chi  (%)  Persei.  In  reality  it  consists  of  two  clusters 
of  stars  like  two  swarms  of  bees  encountering  in  mid- 
air. They  have  excited  the  admiration  of  all  astron- 
omers. "These  two  gorgeous  clusters,"  is  Webb's 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EY1 

descriptive  phrase  ;  "  The  glories  of  ^  Persei,"  i 
Proctor's  tribute;  "One  of  the  most  brilliant  ob 
jects  in  the  heavens,"  wrote  Admiral  Smyth.  Si 
William  Herschel  here  tried  one  of  his  famous  "sta 
gauges,"  but  with  his  most  powerful  telescope  h 
could  not  reach  the  bottom  of  what  seems  to  hav 
been  regarded  by  him  as  a  sort  of  well  filled  witl 
stars,  for  he  thought  that  it  extended  out  into  spao 
to  a  depth  far  greater  than  its  width.  I  remembe 
once  showing  this  object  with  a  small  telescope  to  < 
person  who  had  never  before  looked  into  an  astro 
nomical  glass,  and  his  sudden  start  and  exclamatioi 
of  amazement  were  a  tribute  to  the  wonder-stirring 
power  of  the  starry  universe. 

The  mythology  of  this  constellation  has  already 
been  sufficiently  indicated.  No  one  will  be  surprisec 
that  Dr.  Seiss  makes  Perseus  the  symbol  of  the  Re 
deemer  of  mankind  and  the  slayer  of  the  Evil  One 
the  latter  being  represented  by  Algol.  He  derive: 
the  name  Perseus  from  a  root  signifying  the  Breaker 
and,  summing  up  the  old  myths,  he  says: 

No  natural  events  in  the  seasons  or  in  the  history  of  mat 
could  ever  serve  as  a  foundation  for  such  a  story  as  this 
Here  is  a  divine-human  son,  begotten  of  a  golden  shower  fron 
the  Deity,  a  child  of  affliction  and  persecution  from  his  ver] 
birth,  but  predestined  by  the  heavenly  powers  to  live  anc 
triumph.  .  .  .  He  is  winged,  and  given  a  diamond  sword,  ai 
Heaven's  messenger  and  herald,  to  undo  the  powers  of  evi 
and  administer  deliverance  and  prosperity. 

The  double  star  Eta  (77)  has  components  of  magni 
tudes  fourth  and  eighth;  distance,  28";  colors,  white 
and  pale  blue.  In  Epsilon  (e)  the  magnitudes  are 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    DECEMBER 

third  and  eighth;  distance,  9".  The  eighth-magni- 
tude star  is  variable,  and  some  observers  have  said 
that  its  color  changes  from  blue  to  red  as  it  fades. 

Cettts 

(CHART    VIII) 

The  great  constellation  of  Cetus,  the  Whale,  is  now 
mostly  past  the  meridian  in  the  south,  the  head, 
which  is  turned  eastward,  lying  just  under  Aries.  The 
constellation  is  about  fifty  degrees  in  length  from  east 
to  west,  and  nearly  as  much  in  its  greatest  exten- 
sion north  and  south.  Its  leading  star,  Alpha  (a),  or 
Menkar,  in  the  head,  is  of  less  than  the  second  magni- 
tude. Gamma  (7),  six  degrees  west  of  it,  in  the  di- 
rection of  Alpha  Piscium,  is  of  the  third  magnitude. 
Some  twenty-five  degrees  southwest  of  Menkar  four 
third  -  magnitude  stars,  in  the  body  of  the  Whale, 
mark  the  outlines  of  the  upturned  bowl  of  a  dipper. 
Farther  west  and  south  is  a  second-magnitude  star, 
Beta  (/3),  in  the  tail,  which  is  also  called  Denib  Kaitos. 
Much  of  this  constellation  is  comparatively  a  blank, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  conspicuous  stars.  Heis  as- 
signs to  Cetus  two  second-magnitude,  six  third-mag- 
nitude, seven  fourth-magnitude,  and  twenty-four  fifth- 
magnitude  stars,  but  all  of  them,  as  is  usual,  vary 
much  from  the  standard. 

Cetus  was  identified  by  Aratus  with  the  sea-monster 
sent  to  devour  Andromeda: 

And  yonder,  distant  from  her  cowering  form, 
The  on-coming  monster  scares  Andromeda. 
155 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    -NAKED    EYE 

She  in  the  blasts  of  Thracian  Boreas 

Is  stationed,  while  the  south-wind  brings  her  foe. 

— The  Phainomena. 


In  earlier  times  it  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as 
some  kind  of  leviathan  without  connection  with  the 
story  of  Andromeda.  Allen  suggests  that  it  may 
have  represented  the  ferocious  Tiamat  of  the  Chaldean 
myths.  The  creature  seems  about  to  plunge  into  the 
waters  of  the  river  Eridanus.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  it  was  considered  to  be  a  symbol  of  Jonah's 
whale,  and  also  of  Job's  leviathan.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  Dr.  Seiss  finds  in  it  the  Apocalyptic 
Dragon,  "the  Old  Serpent  which  is  the  Devil  and 
Satan." 

The  most  interesting  star  in  Cetus  is  Omicron  (o), 
celebrated  by  the  name  Mira,  the  first  variable  star 
ever  recognized  as  such.  Its  changes  were  noticed 
with  great  astonishment  by  David  Fabricius,  an 
amateur  astronomer  of  Germany,  in  1596.  Mira 
when  brightest  sometimes  exceeds  the  second  magni- 
tude (this  occurred  in  December,  1906),  and  when 
faintest  it  is  far  beyond  the  range  of  the  naked  eye. 
Its  average  period  is  about  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  days,  but  this  period  is  variable  to  the  extent  of 
nearly  a  month.  Sometimes  the  star  fails  to  brighten 
when  expected  to  do  so.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
it  once  remained  invisible  for  four  years.  General- 
ly when  at  maximum  it  does  not  exceed  the  third 
or  fourth  magnitude;  its  occasional  outbursts  are, 
therefore,  all  the  more  surprising.  Its  color,  especial- 
ly when  fading,  is  red,  and  its  spectrum  shows  blaz- 
156 


CONSTELLATIONS    IN    DECEMBER 

ing  lines  when  its  light  is  gaining.  The  semblance  to 
a  gigantic  conflagration  is  startling.  The  cause  of 
the  variations  of  Mira  remains  unknown,  but  the 
phenomena  most  closely  resemble  those  observed  in 
temporary  stars  like  Nova  Aurigae  and  Nova  Persei. 
Some  think  that  Mira  represents  the  closing  stages  of 
sunspottedness. 

Zeta  is  a  wide  double;  magnitudes,  third  and 
ninth;  distance,  185".  Gamma  is  a  very  beautiful 
double ;  magnitudes,  third  and  seventh ;  distance,  3" ; 
colors,  straw-color  and  blue. 


XIV 

THE   SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

Argo  Natis 

Sternward  she  glides,  like  to  a  ship  whose  helm 
Her  crew  have  turned  to  landward, 
Coining  to  anchor.     All  the  oars  back  water, 
Au4  lapping  surges  splash  upon  the  strand. 
Thus  sternward  Jason's  Argo  makes  her  way, 
Spectral  her  frame,  and  starless  from  the  prow 
To  the  central  mast,  but  radiant  all  her  after-hull. 

— Aratus. 

IN  Chart  XIII  the  whole  southern  hemisphere  of 
the  heavens  is  represented.  The  inner  circle  is 
placed  about  thirty-five  degrees  below  the  equator, 
and  the  constellations  below  or  within  this  circle 
are  circumpolar  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern 
hemisphere,  and  are  not  observable  from  median  north- 
ern latitudes.  Inasmuch  as  these  stars  are  invisible 
for  the  majority  of  the  readers  of  this  book,  the  con- 
stellations are  not  represented  by  outlines,  but  their 
places  and  principal  stars  are  shown.  Parts  of  those 
lying  close  to  the  circle  are  visible  from  the  Southern 
United  States  and  Southern  Europe,  and  they  can  be 
recognized  by  observing  their  position  with  reference 
158 


CHART  XIM 


THE    SOUTHERN*    CONSTELLATIONS. 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

to  the  well-known  constellations  bordering  the  zodiac 
and  the  equator. 

Thus  the  brilliant  Canopus,  in  Argo  Navis,  which 
can  be  seen  from  the  Gulf  States,  lies  about  thirty- 
five  degrees  south  of  Sinus,  in  Canis  Major.  In  Greek 
mythology,  Argo  Navis  represented  the  ship  built  by 
Argo  for  Jason  when  he  sailed  in  search  of  the  Golden 
Fleece.  Its  bow  is  said  to  have  been  lost  in  passing 
through  the  Bosporus,  and  in  the  sky  the  ship  is  rep- 
resented without  a  bow.  A  considerable  portion  of 
Argo  Navis  is  above  the  horizon  for  Northern  observ- 
ers, but  the  more  important  part  of  the  constellation 
lies  far  south.  It  is  so  extensive  that  astronomers,  for 
purposes  of  reference,  have  divided  it  into  three  parts 
— viz.,  Carina,  the  Keel;  Puppis,  the  Stern;  and  Vela, 
the  Sail.  Canopus,  the  Alpha  (a)  of  the  whole  con- 
stellation, is  in  the  part  called  Carina.  This  star, 
which  is  second  to  Sirius  only  in  brilliancy,  and  which 
has  even  been  thought  by  observers  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  to  outshine  the  Dog  Star,  has  attracted  a 
great  deal  of  attention  recently  on  account  of  the 
enormous  actual  magnitude  that  its  brightness,  com- 
bined with  its  vast  distance,  shows  that  it  must  pos- 
sess. Professor  Newcomb  places  it  in  what  he  has 
called  the  X  class — i.  e.,  stars  whose  intrinsic  brilliancy 
exceeds  the  sun's  at  least  ten  thousand  times!  Rigel, 
in  Orion,  is  another  star  falling  into  this  rank,  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  Rigel  and  Canopus  are  anything 
like  equal.  If  Canopus  is  ten  thousand  times  more 
brilliant  than  the  sun,  it  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  times 
more  brilliant  than  Sirius,  which  equals  only  forty 
suns.  .Sirius  outshines  Canopus  to  our  eyes  simply 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

because  it  is  much  nearer  to  us.  Basing  the  specu- 
lation on  the  immense  magnitude  of  Canopus,  some 
have  suggested  that  it  may  be  the  actual  centre  of  the 
universe,  but  there  are  no  good  grounds  for  such  a 
belief.  Canopus  belongs  to  the  same  stellar  type  as 
Sirius,  and  shines  with  the  same  electric  blue-white 
beams. 

Canopus  has  been  worshipped  in  many  countries, 
such  as  Chaldea,  Egypt,  and  China.  Carlyle  speaks 
of  its  worship  by  the  Arabs  in  Mohammed's  time,  and 
finds  an  excuse  for  his  hero  to  follow  the  example  of 
his  countrymen  in  the  "wild,  blue,  spirit-like  bright- 
ness "  which  the  star  exhibits  when  seen  glittering 
above  the  sandy  deserts  of  the  South.  It  was  Mo- 
hammed's star,  as  Venus  seen  by  daylight  is  said  to 
have  been  Napoleon's. 

In  Egypt,  Lockyer  has  found  many  temples — at 
Edfu,  Philse,  and  elsewhere  —  oriented  to  Canopus 
when  it  rose  just  before  sunrise  at  the  autumnal  equi- 
nox. Other  temples — as,  for  instance,  two  at  Karnak 
— pointed  to  its  place  of  setting.  Like  Sirius,  it  has 
been  identified  with  the  Egyptian  Osiris. 

The  other  conspicuous  stars  of  Argo  Navis  are  far- 
ther east,  lying  in  and  along  the  Milky  Way.  Of  these 
the  star  Gamma  (7),  of  the  second  magnitude,  is 
notable  as  being  the  only  bright  star  in  the  heavens 
which  shows  the  Wolf-Rayet  type  of  spectrum — *.  e., 
a  continuous  spectrum  crossed  by  brilliant  white  in- 
stead of  dark  lines.  It  would  seem  that  the  atmos- 
phere of  such  stars  must  be  brilliantly  incandescent. 
Another  notable  star  is  Eta  (?;),  a  most  wonderful 
variable.  Sometimes  it  becomes  as  brilliant  as  Sirius, 
160 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

at  other  times  it  is  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  Its 
period  of  change  extends  over  many  years,  and  is 
very  erratic.  Eta  is  surrounded  by  a  strange  nebula, 
called  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  from  its  shape,  the  Key- 
hole Nebula.  This,  too,  like  the  wonderful  star  in- 
volved in  it,  appears  to  be  variable. 


The  South  Pole 

Between  Canopus  and  Lepus,  below  Orion,  lies  the 
little  constellation  Colomba,  the  Dove,  or  Noah's 
Dove,  mentioned  in  a  preceding  chapter.  This,  like 
most  of  the  southern  constellations,  is  of  modern 
origin.  Some  of  these,  such  as  the  Flying  Fish,  the 
Chameleon,  the  Air  -  Pump,  and  the  Octant,  are  in 
themselves  hardly  worth  mentioning  for  our  purposes ; 
but  the  Octant  is  interesting  as  being  the  antarctic 
equivalent  of  Ursa  Minor,  since  it  surrounds  the  south- 
ern pole  of  the  heavens.  There  is,  strictly  speaking, 
no  south  polar-star,  the  nearest  naked -eye  star  to 
the  pole  being  hardly  above  the  sixth  magnitude.  It 
is  interesting,  however,  to  know  that  when  the  brill- 
iant Vega  becomes  the  North  Polar  Star,  about  eleven 
thousand  years  hence,  Canopus  will  be  sufficiently 
near  the  south  pole  of  the  heavens  to  serve  as  a  south- 
ern Polaris.  Another  curious  fact  associating  these 
two  brilliant  stars  is  that  the  point  in  space  from 
which  the  proper  motion  of  the  solar  system  is  car- 
rying us  is  situated  not  many  degrees  from  Canopus, 
while  the  point  towards  which  we  are  travelling  is 
equally  near  to  Vega. 

161 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

The  Southern  Cross 

This  world-famous  constellation  lies  exactly  south 
of  Crater,  at  a  distance  of  about  thirty  degrees  from 
the  south  pole.  The  precession  of  the  equinoxes  is 
carrying  the  Cross  slowly  southward,  and  it  is  a 
curious  fact,  to  which  Mr.  Allen  has  called  attention, 
that  this  constellation  was  last  seen  on  the  horizon 
of  Jerusalem  about  the  time  of  the  Crucifixion.  The 
Southern  Cross  did  not  receive  its  name,  however,  un- 
til after  it  had  attracted  the  attention  and  excited 
the  admiration  of  the  early  circumnavigators.  It 
seems  to  have  been  named  early  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. Dante's  lines  in  the  first  canto  of  the  "  Purga- 
tory "  have  often  been  supposed  to  refer  to  this  con- 
stellation (not  then  called  the  Cross),  because  of  its 
four  bright  stars : 

To  the  right  hand  I  turned  and  fixed  my  mind 
On  the  other  pole,  attentive,  where  I  saw 
Four  stars  ne'er  seen  before  save  by  the  ken 
Of  our  first  parents.     Heaven  of  their  ray, 
Seemed  joyous.     O,  thou  northern  site,  bereft 
Indeed,  and  widowed,  since  of  these  deprived. 

— Carey's  translation. 

Amerigo  Vespucci,  on  his  first  voyage,  saw  the 
Cross,  and  exultingly  wrote  that  he  had  beheld 
Dante's  "four  stars."  As  other  navigators  pressed 
into  the  Southern  seas,  the  fame  of  the  Croce  maravi- 
gliosa,  as  Pigafetta  called  it,  spread  over  the  world. 
Pigafetta  thought  it  more  glorious  than  all  the  other 
constellations.  It  appeared  on  a  celestial  globe  by 
162 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

Mollineux  in  1592.  Acosta,  in  his  history  of  the 
West  Indies,  published  in  1590,  told  how  the  Span- 
ish settlers  were  accustomed  to  use  the  Southern 
Cross  as  a  clock,  reckoning  the  hour  by  its  inclina- 
tion to  the  horizon.  Readers  of  the  romance  of  Paul 
and  Virginia  will  recall  a  reference  to  this  use  of  the 
constellation  of  the  Cross.  The  intensity  of  religious 
feeling  in  the  time  of  the  great  geographical  discov- 
eries no  doubt  added  immensely  to  the  interest  felt 
in  the  Southern  Cross,  as  well  as  to  the  appreciation 
of  its  beauty  by  those  lucky  enough  to  see  it.  Its 
splendor  lost  nothing  in  their  descriptions,  and  it 
soon  captured  the  imagination  of  all  Christendom. 
Yet  its  stars  had  been  known  to  the  ancients  when 
the  constellation  shone  over  the  middle  northern 
latitudes,  and  they  had  not,  apparently,  given  it  a 
separate  name.  It  was  a  part  of  the  constellation 
Centaurus  in  Hipparchus's  time.  Essentially  it  is  a 
constellation  associated  with  the  days  of  discovery 
and  early  conquest  in  America. 

Thou  recallest  the  ages  when  first  o'er  the  main 
My  fathers  unfolded  the  ensign  of  Spain, 
And  planted  their  faith  in  the  regions  that  see 
Its  imperishing  symbol  ever  blazoned  in  thee. 

— Mrs.  Hemans. 

Its  renown  is  still  so  wide  that  few  travellers  visit 
the  southern  hemisphere  without  recording  their  first 
impressions  of  this  constellation. 

The  Southern  Cross  consists  essentially  of  four 
bright  stars  arranged  as  if  at  the  ends  of  the  two 
sticks  of  a  kite,  somewhat  awry.  The  larger  beam, 
163 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

about  six  degrees  in  length,  points  to  the  pole.  The 
four  stars  are,  respectively,  of  the  first,  second,  second, 
and  third  magnitudes.  The  largest  star,  Alpha  (a), 
is  at  the  base  of  the  figure.  Gamma  (7) ,  of  the  second 
magnitude,  at  the  top  of  the  cross,  is  orange-colored. 
The  other  stars  are  white.  Alpha  is  a  beautiful  tele- 
scopic double. 

A  famous  telescopic  object  in  the  Southern  Cross  is 
the  colored  cluster  surrounding  the  little  star  Kappa 
(/c).  Sir  John  Herschel,  the  discoverer  of  this  ob- 
ject, compared  it  to  "a  gorgeous  piece  of  fancy 
jewelry,"  on  account  of  the  many  colors  displayed. 
There  are  several  red  stars,  and  others  imitating  em- 
eralds, sapphires,  and  topazes.  Different  observers 
since  Sir  John  Herschel's  time  have  been  differently 
impressed  by  this  curious  cluster,  some  describing  it 
as  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  others  finding  that  the 
only  colors  especially  noticeable  are  the  reds.  I  have 
noticed  a  surprising  difference  in  the  eyes  of  persons 
observing  star  colors.  Some,  apparently  not  color 
blind  in  ordinary  circumstances,  can  see  little  or  no 
color  in  a  star  where  it  is  perfectly  obvious  to  others. 

Centaurus 

There  is  a  second  Centaur  in  the  southern  sky, 
who,  although  he  lacks  the  distinction  enjoyed  by 
his  rival  Sagittarius  of  belonging  to  the  zodiacal 
twelve,  makes  upon  the  whole  a  more  notable  figure, 
although  situated  too  far  south  to  be  seen  from  our 
latitudes.  The  constellation  Centaurus  surrounds  the 
Southern  Cross  on  three  sides,  and  extends  north  of  it 
to  the  coils  of  Hydra.  It  faces  eastward,  and  is  rep- 
164 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

resented  as  charging,  with  a  levelled  lance,  either  at 
the  Wolf,  just  ahead  of  it,  or  at  the  more  formidable 
Scorpio,  farther  east  and  north.  The  constellation 
is  fabled  to  represent  the  Centaur  Chiron,  who  was 
the  best  of  his  race,  the  favorite  of  Apollo  and  Diana, 
and  the  instructor  of  ^Esculapius  in  medicine  and  the 
chase,  of  Jason,  and  of  the  young  Achilles,  who  was 
brought  up  under  his  care  in  a  cave  on  Mount  Pelion. 
Chiron  tried  to  make  peace  between  Hercules  and 
the  other  Centaurs.  Being  struck  by  a  poisoned  ar- 
row, he  magnanimously  offered  to  die  in  the  place  of 
Prometheus,  and  the  gods  accepted  his  sacrifice  and 
put  him  among  the  stars.  In  antiquity,  Chiron  was 
believed  to  have  invented  the  constellations. 

Centaurus  is  ospecially  interesting  for  containing 
the  nearest  to  us  of  all  the  stars,  the  celebrated  Alpha 
Centauri.  This  is  a  very  brilliant  star  of  nearly  the 
zero  magnitude,  ranking  next  to  Canopus.  Its  paral- 
lax is  only  o".75,  equivalent  to  a  distance  of  four  and 
one-third  light  years,  or,  say,  twenty-six  millions  of 
millions  of  miles.  Alpha  Centauri  is  a  binary,  the 
smaller  star  being  itself  almost  of  the  first  magnitude. 
Taken  together,  the  intrinsic  brilliancy  of  the  two 
stars  is  four  times  that  of  the  sun.  The  spectrum 
indicates  a  stage  of  evolution  between  that  of  Sirius 
and  that  of  the  sun.  Alpha  Centauri  was  a  prominent 
object  of  temple  worship  in  Egypt. 

Alpha  and  Beta  Centauri,  the  latter  of  the  first 
magnitude,  make  a  noble  pair,  only  about  five  degrees 
apart,  and  they  are  sometimes  called  the  Southern 
Pointers,  since  they  indicate  the  position  of  the 
Southern  Cross. 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 
Ara 

Directly  south  of  the  tail  of  Scorpio  stands  the 
celestial  altar,  Ara. 

About  that  Altar  ancient  Night, 
Pitying  human  woes  in  ocean  storms, 
Has  raised  a  beacon. 

— Aratus. 

The  poet  refers  to  the  ancient  importance  of  this 
constellation  as  a  weather  portent.  When  black 
clouds  were  seen  at  nightfall  forming  like  smoke  above 
its  stars,  the  sailors  took  warning  and  stayed  in  har- 
bor. But  for  its  antiquity  the  constellation  would 
hardly  demand  notice,  for  its  stars  are  few  and  small. 
The  prominence  of  the  name  in  ancient  times  has  led 
to  the  suspicion  that  some  other  group  of  stars  was, 
at  first,  called  the  Altar.  Yet  the  constellation  de- 
scribed by  Aratus  is  the  same  one  that  bears  the  name 
at  the  present  time. 

The  Triangle 

The  Southern  Triangle  is  a  much  more  conspicuous 
object  in  the  sky  than  its  northern  namesake  near 
Andromeda.  It  is  an  invention  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, like  the  Southern  Cross,  and  Bayer  called  it  the 
Three  Patriarchs.  One  of  its  stars  is  of  the  second, 
and  the  other  two  of  the  third  magnitude.  In  the 
Northern  Triangle  the  brightest  star  is  of  the  third 
magnitude.  The  Southern  Triangle  wras  much  no- 
ticed by  the  early  navigators  in  southern  seas. 
1 66 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 
Grus  and  Toucan 

South  of  Capricornus  and  the  Southern  Fish  is  a 
group  of  modern  constellations,  including  Grus  the 
Crane,  Toucan,  Pavo  the  Peacock,  and  the  Indian,  of 
which  Grus  is  worthy  of  special  mention  because  its 
most  conspicuous  star,  Alpha  (a),  of  the  second  mag- 
nitude, can  be  seen  from  our  lower  latitudes  flam- 
ing southwest  of  Fomalhaut.  In  former  times  Grus 
was  a  part  of  the  Southern  Fish,  and  then  the  star 
Alpha  bore  the  name  of  the  Bright  One.  Some  of  the 
early  Spanish  navigators  called  Grus  the  Flamingo, 
and  they  imagined  it  flying  and  striking  with  its  long 
bill  at  the  Southern  Fish. 

Toucan  contains  two  notable  star  clusters.  One 
of  these  was  described  by  Sir  John  Herschel  as  the 
richest  and  largest  object  of  the  kind  in  the  heavens. 
A  later  observer,  Professor  Bailey,  of  the  Cambridge 
Observatory,  has  counted  2235  stars  in  the  centre  of 
the  cluster,  several  of  them  being  variables.  Variable 
stars  are  numerous  in  many  other  clusters. 

The  second  cluster  in  Toucan  was  described  by  Sir 
John  Herschel  as  containing  a  nuclear  mass  of  ruby 
stars  at  the  centre,  surrounded  by  white  ones.  Later 
observers  have  not  noted  the  difference  of  color  re- 
marked by  Herschel. 

The  Phoenix 

Southeast  of  Fomalhaut,  and  just  above  the  hori- 
zon in  the  latitude  of  New  York  in  the  middle  of 
November,  may  be  seen  the  bright  second-magnitude 
167 


SIATEMORMALSaaiMJL, 

ZxOS 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

star  Alpha  (a),  in  the  constellation  Phoenix.  The 
Arabs  associated  this  constellation  with  the  ostrich, 
but  Bayer  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Phoenix  in  1603. 
Its  principal  star  lies  very  close  to  the  equinoctial 
colure,  and  is  on  the  meridian  with  the  sun  at  the 
opening  of  spring.  On  this  account  Mr.  Allen  thinks 
that  the  name  Phcenix  was  very  appropriately  be- 
stowed, since  the  fabled  Phcenix  renewed  its  life  at 
the  opening  of  the  Great  Year  of  the  ancients,  begin- 
ning at  noon  of  the  day  when  the  sun  entered  Aries, 
and  thus  the  astronomical  symbolism  of  the  constella- 
tion names  is,  in  this  instance,  preserved. 

The  Southern  Eridanus 

In  describing  the  constellation  Eridanus,  the  starry 
river  which  takes  its  rise  from  the  begemmed  sandal 
of  Orion,  it  was  remarked  that  the  chief  star  of  the 
constellation  is  not  visible  from  northern  latitudes. 
It  is  found  southeast  of  the  Phoenix,  about  thirty- 
two  degrees  from  the  south  pole,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  stars  in  the  sky,  equal  to  Rigel,  Capella, 
Vega,  and  Arcturus.  It  bears  the  name  Achernar, 
from  the  Arabic,  meaning  the  End  of  the  River.  It  is 
another  star  of  the  Sirian  type,  and,  having  a  very 
small  parallax,  must  be  of  enormous  intrinsic  brillian- 
cy. In  early  times  Eridanus  was  sometimes  called  the 
Ocean,  and  sometimes  the  River  of  Ocean.  It  has 
also  at  different  times  been  identified  with  various 
famous  rivers  other  than  the  Po.  Aratus  knew  it 
only  as  the  River.  Thus,  describing  the  rising  of 
Cetus,  he  says: 

168 


THE    SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

And  now  the  River-flood's  first  winding  reach, 
The  becalmed  mariner  may  see  in  heaven 
As  he  watches  for  Orion,  to  espy  if  he  hath  aught  to  say 
Of  the  night's  measure  or  the  slumbering  winds. 

— The  Phainomena. 

In  Egypt  it  was  associated  with  the  Nile,  and  in 
Chaldea  with  the  Euphrates. 

The  Magettanic  Clouds 

Almost  directly  south  of  Achernar,  and  about  half- 
way to  the  pole,  in  the  constellation  called  Hydrus,  or 
the  Watersnake,  lies  the  smaller  of  the  famous  Ma- 
gellanic  Clouds,  or  Cape  Clouds.  This  is  the  Nu- 
becula  Minor.  Its  greater  companion,  the  Nubecula 
Major,  is  seen  in  the  constellation  Dorado,  the  Gold- 
fish, half-way  to  Canopus.  These  luminous  clouds, 
which  resemble  detached  portions  of  the  Milky  Way, 
from  which  they  are,  however,  far  removed,  excited 
the  astonishment  of  early  navigators  of  the  southern 
oceans  and  shared  attention  with  the  Southern  Cross. 

The  Nubecula  Minor  is  the  brighter  of  the  two, 
covering  about  ten  square  degrees  on  the  sky.  Flam- 
marion  enumerates  in  it  37  separate  nebulae,  7  star 
clusters,  and  200  individual  stars.  The  Nubecula 
Major,  which  is  very  faint  in  the  presence  of  the  full 
moon,  contains,  according  to  the  same  authority,  291 
separate  nebulae,  46  star  clusters,  and  582  individual 
stars.  It  covers  an  area  of  about  forty  square  de- 
grees. All  around  these  singular  clouds  the  sky  is 
curiously  dark  and  vacant,  as  if  its  contents  had 
been  swept  into  these  heaps. 
«  169 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

The  name  Magellanic  Clouds,  or  Magellan's  Clouds, 
was  given  to  them  because  of  the  description  which 
the  great  circumnavigator  furnished  of  these  phe- 
nomena on  his  voyage.  But  they  were  known  before 
his  day,  and  were  called  the  Cape  Clouds  on  account 
of  being  seen  by  those  who  visited  or  rounded  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Humboldt  thought  that  the 
larger  cloud  was  probably  the  White  Ox  of  the  Arabs, 
and  he  remarks  that  in  Southern  Arabia,  especially 
in  the  interior  of  the  country,  where  the  atmosphere 
is  very  dry  and  the  sky  of  a  deep  azure,  the  Magellanic 
Clouds  must  be  notable  phenomena.  The  singular  idea 
was  once  entertained  that  these  clouds  were  parts  of 
the  Milky  Way  which  had  been  broken  off  and  drifted 
away,  and  the  gaps  which  they  had  left  were  even 
pointed  out.  There  is  no  ground  whatever  for  this 
notion.  In  their  intermingling  of  nebulae  and  star 
clusters  they  resemble  certain  regions  of  the  Milky 
Way  that  have  been  photographed  by  Barnard  in 
the  constellation  Sagittarius.  Photographs  of  the 
two  clouds  made  by  Russell  in  1890  show  that  both 
are  spiral  in  their  general  structure.  In  this  respect 
they  recall  the  enormous  spiral  nebula  (invisible  to 
the  eye)  which  envelops  the  constellation  Orion. 


XV 

THE   MILKY   WAY 

T^HE  true  "river  of  the  sky"  is  the  Galaxy,  or 
1  Milky  Way.  Even  the  most  brilliant  stars  have 
not  affected  the  imagination  of  mankind  as  has  this 
mysterious  circle  of  soft,  glowing  light  surrounding 
the  entire  firmament.  Its  appearance  on  a  clear, 
moonless  night  is  calculated  to  impress  the  most 
thoughtless  observer  with  a  sense  of  awe  and  mystery, 
which  becomes  wonder  at  the  illimitable  extension 
of  the  universe  when  we  reflect  that  this  path 
round  its  borders  consists  of  hundreds  of  millions  of 
stars. 

The  first  scientific  demonstration  of  the  stellar 
character  of  the  Milky  Way  was  given  by  Galileo's 
telescope,  but  ages  before  his  time  philosophers  had 
guessed  that  the  great  luminous  band  was  composed 
of  stars.  Pythagoras  thought  that  it  consisted  of 
distant  stars,  and  Democritus  was  of  the  same  opin- 
ion. Aristotle  followed  their  ideas  in  this,  but  im- 
agined that  the  Milky  Way  was  the  birthplace  of 
comets.  This  conception  of  the  stellar  nature  of  the 
Milky  Way  even  found  its  way  into  poetry  centuries 
before  Galileo.  Yet,  until  his  time,  nobody  knew  for 
certain  what  was  the  composition  of  the  Galaxy. 
171 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Galileo's  description  of  the  appearance  of  the  Milky 
Way  in  his  little  telescope  is  interesting : 

The  next  object  which  I  have  observed  is  the  essence,  or 
substance,  of  the  Milky  Way.  By  the  aid  of  a  telescope  any 
one  may  behold  this  in  a  manner  which  so  distinctly  appeals 
to  the  senses  that  all  the  disputes  which  have  tormented 
philosophers  through  so  many  ages  are  exploded  at  once 
by  the  irrefragable  evidence  of  our  eyes,  and  we  are  freed 
from  wordy  disputes  upon  this  subject,  for  the  Galaxy  is 
nothing  else  but  a  mass  of  innumerable  stars  planted  to- 
gether in  clusters.  Upon  whatever  part  of  it  you  direct  the 
telescope,  straightway  a  vast  crowd  of  stars  presents  itself 
to  view.  Many  of  them  are  tolerably  large  and  extremely 
bright,  but  the  number  of  small  ones  is  quite  beyond  de- 
termination. 

As  soon  as  one  begins  to  observe  the  Milky  Way 
with  the  least  care,  it  becomes  evident  that  it  varies 
immensely  in  brilliancy  in  different  places,  and  that 
its  borders  are  very  irregular,  although  upon  the 
whole  it  pursues  a  fairly  straight  course  inclined  at 
an  average  angle  of  about  twenty-five  degrees  to  the 
axis  of  the  equator.  Owing  to  this  inclination,  the 
Milky  Way  lies  in  a  long  band  along  the  northern 
horizon  in  the  evenings  of  May,  stretching  from  the 
western  to  the  eastern  points,  while  in  October,  No- 
vember, and  December  it  crosses  the  sky  between 
the  zenith  and  the  north  pole  like  a  vast  arch.  In 
the  latter  part  of  January  this  luminous  arch  springs 
from  the  horizon  in  the  southeast,  passes  through  the 
zenith,  and  reaches  the  horizon  again  in  the  north- 
northwest.  In  the  middle  of  March  it  runs  parallel 
with  the  meridian  on  the  west,  and  at  the  end  of 
172 


THE    MILKY    WAY 

July  it  occupies  a  similar  position  east  of  the  meridian. 
It  is  at  this  time  that  its  most  conspicuous  reaches, 
running  from  Cassiopeia  through  Cygnus  and  Aquila 
to  Sagittarius  and  Scorpio,  are  best  seen.  The  half 
of  the  Milky  Way  that  lies  south  of  the  equator  is, 
upon  the  whole,  the  most  brilliant. 

The  immense  amount  of  detail  that  the  Milky  Way 
presents,  and  the  striking  variations  in  its  appear- 
ance at  different  points  along  its  course,  make  it  well 
worth  while  to  trace  it  throughout  its  whole  extent. 
In  fact,  it  is  necessary  to  do  so  if  we  would  form  an 
idea  of  the  "architecture  of  the  heavens,"  for  the 
Milky  Way  enters  as  the  foundation  and  frame  of  the 
entire  structure.  It  indicates  not  only  the  general 
»  shape,  but  the  skeletal  details  of  the  vast  organic  whole 
which  we  call  the  universe.  Sir  William  Herschel's 
original  idea  was  that  the  Milky  Way  showed  that  the 
stellar  system  was  shaped  like  a  disk,  the  sun  being 
somewhere  near  the  centre,  so  that  when  we  look  out 
in  the  direction  of  the  plane  of  the  disk  we  see  in- 
numerable stars,  while  when  we  look  at  right  angles 
to  that  plane  our  vision  ranges  out  into  the  open 
space  on  either  side,  where  but  few  stars  are  to  be 
seen.  It  was  with  this  idea  in  mind  that  he  devised 
his  method  of  star  gauging,  reaching  deeper  and  deep- 
er into  space  with  his  telescopic  plummets  as  the  size 
and  power  of  his  instruments  increased.  Later  he 
modified  his  views,  and  approached  more  to  the  mod- 
ern idea,  that  the  stars  are  not  distributed  uniform- 
ly inside  the  circuit  of  the  Milky  Way,  but  that  the 
latter  is,  in  reality,  what  it  looks  to  be,  a  vast  ring  or 
spiral  of  distant  stars  surrounding  the  entire  sys- 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

tern,  and  enclosing  a  relatively  empty  space.  Through 
this  relatively  empty  space  our  sun,  with  its  atten- 
dant planets,  is  journeying.  If  its  course  has  always 
been  a  straight  one,  and  if  it  is  to  continue  the  same 
in  the  future,  then  it  must  once  have  been  near  the 
edge  of  the  Milky  Way  in  the  south,  and  eventually 
it  will  approach  the  opposite  edge  of  the  Milky  Way 
in  the  north. 

The  idea  that  the  Milky  Way  is  a  ring  of  stars, 
made  up  of  subsidiary  spirals,  is  borne  out  by  the 
varied  aspects  which  it  presents  at  different  points 
along  its  course.  I  cannot  too  strongly  urge,  even 
upon  the  naked -eye  observer,  the  utility  and  the 
charm  of  studying  the  Milky  Way  in  detail.  No  more 
delightful  occupation  can  be  imagined  for  a  summer's 
night,  when  the  moon  is  absent,  when  the  heavens 
are  clear  and  serene,  and  when  the  observer  finds  him- 
self at  a  distance  from  the  smoke  and  blaze  of  towns 
and  cities.  It  is  useless  to  try  to  see  the  Milky  Way 
where  the  atmosphere  is  impure  and  the  air  filled 
with  the  diffused  light  of  electric  lamps.  It  is  one  of 
Nature's  phenomena  which  she  exhibits  in  full  glory 
only  to  those  who  love  to  be  alone  with  her. 

There  is  a  line  of  constellations  which  may  be  called 
the  Milky  Way  constellations,  since  they  are  all  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  involved  in  it.  Beginning  near 
the  north  pole,  and  following  the  order  of  right  as- 
cension, these  constellations  are:  Cassiopeia,  Per- 
seus, Auriga,  Gemini  (the  feet),  Orion  (the  club), 
Monoceros,  Canis  Major  (the  head),  Argo  Navis,  the 
Southern  Cross,  Centaurus  (the  feet),  Ara,  Scorpio 
(the  tail),  Sagittarius,  Scutum  Sobieskii,  Aquila,  Cyg- 


THE    MILKY    WAY 

nus,  and  Cepheus,  which  brings  us  back  again  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  north  pole. 

In  Cassiopeia,  where  its  width  varies  from  five  to 
ten  degrees,  the  Galaxy  passes  through  the  body  and 
chair  of  the  imaginary  figure,  and  is,  in  general,  of 
the  second  order  of  brightness,  according  to  Heis's 
estimate.  But  the  brightness  varies  in  different  spots, 
and  faint  branches  extend  in  various  directions,  one 
running  nearly  to  Polaris.  In  leaving  Cassiopeia  the 
stream  narrows  and  loses  brilliancy,  but  brightens 
again  after  entering  Perseus,  and  is  very  brilliant 
around  the  wonderful  double-cluster  in  the  "Sword- 
hand."  There  are  many  offshoots  here  interspersed 
with  dark  spaces.  One  of  these  involves  Algol,  and 
passes  far  beyond;  another,  still  larger,  passes  the 
Triangle  and  reaches  the  head  of  Aries. 

Nearly  the  whole  constellation  of  Auriga  is  in- 
volved in  winding  branches  of  the  Milky  Way.  The 
brightest  portions  are  between  Capella  and  El  Nath 
in  the  northern  horn  of  Taurus.  One  vast  loop  is 
thrown  out  to  the  Pleiades,  although  its  course  is  not 
brilliant ;  another,  similar,  reaches  and  surrounds  the 
Hyades. 

Passing  between  Gemini  and  Orion,  the  stream 
with  its  side-currents  becomes  very  broad,  although 
faint  in  many  places.  It  is  bright  around  the  feet 
of  Gemini,  and  a  curtain  of  faint  light  spreads  almost 
to  the  heads  of  the  Twins,  Castor  and  Pollux,  lying 
near  its  edge.  A  vast  extension,  but  one  not  readily 
seen  except  in  a  very  clear  sky,  involves  the  belt  of 
Orion.  .  Otto  Baeddicker,  who,  at  Lord  Rosse's  obser- 
vatory in  Ireland,  has  made  very  elaborate  studies 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

of  the  Milky  Way,  represents  a  most  singular  bend 
setting  off  from  the  main  stream  between  Taurus  and 
Orion,  and  running  in  a  long,  narrow  curve  through 
the  rows  of  stars  that  form  the  "lion's  hide,"  which 
Orion  is  represented  as  carrying  for  a  shield  on  his 
left  arm.  The  genesis  of  all  this  part  of  the  heavens 
is  evidently  recent.  It  is  full  of  a  peculiar  type  of 
stars,  called  the  Orion  stars,  in  a  relatively  early 
stage  of  development;  it  is  marked  by  some  of  the 
most  singular  offsets  from  the  Milky  Way,  apparently 
associated  with  notable  rows  of  stars ;  and  it  contains 
the  most  unique  nebulous  objects,  connected  with 
groups  and  clusters  of  stars,  like  the  nebulae  in  the 
Pleiades  and  around  Orion's  belt.  One  might  call 
it  the  New  World  of  space,  where  the  more  ancient 
parts  of  the  starry  universe  may  see  their  history 
re-beginning  and  developing  on  a  grander  plan,  with 
more  magnificent  details. 

In  Monoceros  and  Canis  Major  the  Milky  Way  is 
faint;  in  Argo  Navis  it  spreads  into  broad  shallows, 
but  on  approaching  the  Southern  Cross  it  suddenly 
narrows  to  a  lune-shaped  strait,  which  immediately 
afterwards  expands  into  a  vast  luminous  cloud  com- 
pletely enveloping  the  lower  part  of  the  Cross  and 
extending  on  into  Centaurus.  Between  the  Cross 
and  Alpha  and  Beta  Centauri  appears,  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  brightest  part  of  the  stream,  a  phe- 
nomenon which  drew  almost  as  much  attention  from 
the  early  navigators  of  the  South  Seas  as  the  Cross 
itself,  and  which  Mr.  J.  Ellard  Gore  says  is  consid- 
ered by  some  observers  to  be  the  most  extraordinary 
feature  of  the  southern  sky.  This  is  a  black,  pear- 
176 


THE    MILKY  WAY 

shaped  spot  about  eight  degrees  long  by  five  degrees 
wide,  bearing  the  name  of  the  Coal  Sack.  Some  of 
the  first  explorers  of  the  southern  hemisphere  seem 
to  have  thought  that  it  was  a  real  object  among  the 
stars,  and  this  was  the  opinion  of  the  sailors,  who 
looked  upon  it  with  more  or  less  awe.  It  is,  in  fact, 
an  opening  in  the  Milky  Way,  containing  but  one 
star  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  that  a  very  faint 
one,  while  its  borders  are  sharply  defined  by  rich 
banks  of  stars.  The  telescope  shows  other  faint 
stars  within  the  opening,  but  they  are  too  scat- 
tered to  make  any  impression  on  the  eye,  so  that 
the  effect  of  contrast  causes  the  Coal  Sack  to  ap- 
pear distinctly  blacker  than  any  other  part  of  the 
sky. 

After  passing  Centaurus  the  Milky  Way  splits  in 
two,  the  larger  and  brighter  stream  passing  through 
Ara  into  Sagittarius,  while  the  other  enters  the  east- 
ern end  of  Scorpio  and  finally  fades  away  in  Ophiu- 
chus  after  throwing  out  one  or  two  cross  -  streams 
which  connect  it  with  the  main  current  in  Sagittarius. 
This  portion  of  the  Milky  Way,  which  lies  just  above 
the  southern  horizon,  as  seen  from  our  middle  lati- 
tudes in  summer,  is  very  striking  in  appearance.  On 
a  dark  night  it  suggests  vast  sheets  of  heat  lightning 
arrested  and  motionless.  But  brilliant  as  this  part 
of  the  Milky  Way  appears  to  us,  it  is  far  more  brilliant 
when  seen  from  tropical  latitudes  on  either  side  of  the 
equator.  A  vivid  description  of  its  appearance  in 
the  dry  air  of  the  uplands  of  South  Africa  is  quoted 
by  Mr.  Gore  from  Colonel  Markwick,  an  English  army 
officer : 

177 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Certainly  the  Milky  Way  about  the  neighborhood  of 
Lupus,  Ara,  and  Norma  is  a  wonderful  spectacle,  full  of  a 
mysterious  weirdness  with  its  delicate  cloud-like  wisps  of 
light  and  dark  passages  twining  in  and  out  among  the  star 
mist.  To  my  mind  there  is  no  part  of  the  northern  Milky 
Way  to  compare  to  this. 

In  Sagittarius  and  Scutum  Sobieskii  there  are  spots 
which  look  like  luminous  knots  to  the  naked  eye. 
The  stream  is  also  very  bright  in  Aquila,  and  won- 
derfully so  in  Cygnus,  where  its  long,  winding  reaches 
and  cross-currents  involve  the  entire  figure  of  the 
Northern  Cross.  From  Cygnus  it  passes  into  Cassio- 
peia, the  point  from  which  we  began. 

One  cannot  study  the  Milky  Way  without  observ- 
ing that  the  great  majority  of  the  first-magnitude 
stars  are  arranged  in,  or  close  along,  its  course.  These 
are  Sirius,  Canopus,  Alpha  Crucis,  Alpha  and  Beta 
Centauri,  Antares,  Altair,  Vega,  Capella,  Aldebaran, 
Betelgeuse,  Procyon,  and  Rigel.  The  only  first -mag- 
nitude stars  which  are  situated  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  Milky  Way  are  Arcturus,  Regulus,  Spica, 
Achernar,  and  Fomalhaut.  Stars  of  lesser  magnitude 
also  increase  in  number  as  the  Milky  Way  is  ap- 
proached, and  a  very  notable  circumstance  is  that  the 
curving  wisps  and  rays  that  set  off  from  the  Milky 
Way  are  almost  invariably  accompanied  by  accord- 
ant curves  of  stars. 

The  great  circle  of  first-magnitude  stars — with,  of 
course,  many  of  the  second  magnitude  among  them — 
to  which  attention  has  just  been  called,  has  often 
been  the  subject  of  remark,  and  Sir  John  Herschel  and 
Dr.  Gould  thought  that  it  indicated  the  existence  of 
178 


THE    MILKY    WAY 

a  flat,  disk-shaped  cluster  of  comparatively  near-by 
stars,  to  which  our  own  sun  belongs,  placed  within  the 
ring  of  the  Milky  Way  with  its  plane  inclined  to  the 
latter  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty  degrees. 

The  distance  of  the  Milky  Way  is  appalling.  Only 
most  uncertain  estimates  can  be  made  of  it,  but  there 
seems  to  be  no  question  that  it  must  exceed  twenty 
thousand  millions  of  millions  of  miles.  Light  would 
require  between  three  and  four  thousand  years  to  dart 
over  such  a  distance.  If  the  solar  system  is  travelling 
from  one  side  of  the  Milky  Way  to  the  other,  across 
the  central  opening,  the  whole  journey  will  consume 
about  fifty  millions  of  years. 

""  The  mythology  of  the  Milky  Way  extends  through 
the  literature  of  all  nations.  Naturally  it  has  always 
been  regarded  as  a  road  or  path,  and  the  most  beauti- 
ful legends  have  been  associated  with  it.  All  of  the 
early  nations  connected  it  with  the  abode  of  their  gods 
and  of  translated  spirits.  It  was  the  pathway  of  the 
supernal  powers,  or  that  pursued  by  the  dead  on  their 
way  to  brighter  realms.  The  North  American  Ind- 
ians, with  a  delicacy  of  imagination  not  inferior  to 
that  of  the  Greeks,  saw  in  the  string  of  brilliant  stars 
that  follows  the  line  of  the  Galaxy  the  camp  -  fires 
lighted  along  the  pathway  of  the  spirits  on  their 
journey  to  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds.  The  Greeks, 
the  Hindoos,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Egyptians,  the  Norse- 
men, the  savage  tribes  of  Africa  and  of  Australia,  all 
regarded  it  as  a  celestial  pathway. 

One  of  the  Greek  legends  connected  it  with  the 
story  of  Phaeton  and  his  unfortunate  adventure  with 
the  Chariot  of  the  Sun,  when  the  horses,  taking  fright 
179 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

at  the  spectacle  of  the  monsters  of  the  zodiac,  and 
feeling  no  longer  the  hand  of  Apollo  upon  the  reins, 
bolted  from  their  road,  set  the  heavens  on  fire,  and 
came  near  burning  up  the  earth.  The  scorched  track 
of  their  runaway  was  marked  by  the  Milky  Way. 
Another  story  said  that  the  gods  trod  this  way.  In 
ancient  England  the  Milky  Way  was  sometimes  called 
Watling  Street,  leading  to  Asgard;  also  the  Asgard 
Bridge,  a  name  likewise  given  to  the  rainbow. 

Often,  however,  the  idea  of  a  river  was  associated 
with  the  Milky  Way,  and  it  must  be  said  that  this 
is  more  in  accord  with  its  appearance.  The  Chinese 
and  the  Japanese  regarded  it  as  a  stream,  and  had  a 
beautiful  legend  that  the  silvery  fishes  sporting  in  its 
waves  were  frightened  and  hid  themselves  at  the  sight 
of  the  new  moon,  the  shape  of  which  suggested  a  hook/ 
— a  very  good  way  of  accounting  for  the  fact  that  the 
star-clouds  of  the  Galaxy  almost  disappear  in  the 
presence  of  moonlight.  The  Greeks  also  sometimes 
called  it  the  Ocean  Stream. 

But  returning  to  the  idea  of  a  pathway,  the  Bush- 
men of  South  Africa,  like  the  American  Indians,  as- 
sociated it  with  the  thought  of  lights  illuminated  in 
the  night  to  guide  wandering  spirits.  It  was  a  line 
of  glowing  ashes  and  embers,  they  said,  by  which 
benighted  travellers  might  find  their  way.  Other 
savage  tribes  regarded  it  as  a  road  along  which  their 
dead  friends  were  hunting  ostriches.  Mr.  Allen  as- 
cribes this  belief  to  the  Patagonians. 

Lafcadio   Hearn,   writing  of  the  romance  of  the 
Milky  Way  among  the  Japanese,  and  particularly  of 
the  story  which  we  have  already  referred  to  in  con- 
180 


THE    MILKY    WAY 

nection  with  the  constellations  of  Aquila  and  Lyra 
Chapter  IX),  says,  in  his  eloquent  way: 

In  the  silence  of  transparent  nights,  before  the  rising  of 
the  moon,  the  charm  of  the  ancient  tale  sometimes  descends 
upon  me  out  of  the  scintillant  sky,  to  make  me  forget  the 
monstrous  facts  of  science  and  the  stupendous  horror  of 
Space.  Then  I  no  longer  behold  the  Milky  Way  as  that  aw- 
ful Ring  of  the  Cosmos,  whose  hundred  million  suns  are 

FtseT  t?  ^  ghter  f^  AbySS'  bUt  aS  the  Ver^  Amanogawa 
itself-the  Rrver  Celestial.     I  see  the  thrill  of  its  shining 

stream  the  mists  that  hover  along  its  verge,  and  the  water- 
grasses  that  bend  in  the  winds  of  autumn.  White  Orihime 
**  a\her  starry  loom,  and  the  Ox  that  grazes  on  the 
farther  shore-and  I  know  that  the  falling  dew  is  the  spray 
of  the  Herdsman's  oar. 


XVI 

THE   ZODIACAL   LIGHT 

THIS  mysterious  phenomenon  is  not,  strictly  speak- 
ing, a  stellar  object,  although  it  is  unquestionaably 
connected  with  a  star — our  own  sun.  Like  the  con- 
stellations and  the  Milky  Way,  it  has  long  attracted 
a  great  deal  of  attention,  although  it  is  too  indefinite 
to  have  any  mythological  associations,  and  even  yet 
its  nature  is  not  well  understood.  The  general  opin- 
ion at  present  is  that  the  Zodiacal  Light  is  a  faint  ex- 
tension of  the  sun's  corona.  It  is  generally  described 
as  a  cone  -  shaped  or  lenticular  light,  rising  above 
the  western  horizon  after  sunset  and  above  the  east- 
ern horizon  before  sunrise,  but  not  to  be  seen  at  all 
seasons.  It  is  especially  a  naked-eye  object,  for  it  is 
too  diffuse  to  be  observed  with  a  telescope,  and  at- 
tempts to  photograph  it  are  not  very  successful. 

The  light  lies  in,  or  very  near,  the  plane  of  the  eclip- 
tic, and  consequently  is  best  seen  when  the  ecliptic 
makes  the  steepest  angle  with  the  horizon.  For  our 
latitudes  this  occurs  in  the  evening  during  February, 
March,  and  April,  and  in  the  morning  during  Sep- 
tember and  October.  It  can  be  traced  in  a  clear  sky, 
and  in  the  absence  of  moonlight  to  a  distance  of  about 
sixty  degrees  from  the  sun.  Of  course,  it  cannot  be 
182 


THE    ZODIACAL    LIGHT 

seen  while  the  sun  is  above  the  horizon,  and  not  im- 
mediately after  sunset  or  before  sunrise.  It  is  some- 
times confounded  with  twilight,  but  its  distinct  nature 
may  be  immediately  recognized  from  its  shape. 
Naturally  it  is  best  seen  in  equatorial  regions,  and 
Lieutenant  Jones,  who  made  a  special  study  of  it 
many  years  ago,  traced  it  past  the  zenith,  and  be- 
lieved that  he  could  follow  it  completely  across  the 
sky.  It  ought,  indeed,  to  be  thus  visible,  under 
favorable  circumstances,  if  it  be  what  it  is  supposed 
to  be — a  nebulous  envelope  surrounding  the  equa- 
torial part  of  the  sun,  and  extending  beyond  the  orbit 
of  the  earth.  But  there  is  great  uncertainty  concern- 
ing the  light  seen  in  that  part  of  the  sky  opposite  to 
the  sun,  and  many  observers  think  it  is  not  a  portion 
of  the  true  Zodiacal  Light.  This  light,  opposite  the 
sun,  is  known  as  he  Gegenschein,  and  has  been  par- 
ticularly studied  by  Barnard.  It  is  extremely  faint, 
and  few  have  ever  seen  it. 

I  have  already,  in  Chapter  I.,  referred  to  a  view 
of  the  Zodiacal  Light  which  I  once  had  in  an  early 
autumn  morning  from  the  bare  cone  of  Mount  Etna, 
when  it  shone  with  a  brilliancy  that  greatly  surprised 
me.  M.  Du  Chaillu  has  given  a  picturesque  descrip- 
tion of  its  appearance  as  he  saw  it  during  his  gorilla 
hunts  in  Equatorial  Africa: 

As  if  to  give  a  still  grander  view  to  the  almost  enchanting 
scene,  the  Zodiacal  Light  rose  after  the  sun  had  set,  increas- 
ing in  brilliancy,  of  a  bright  yellow  color,  and  rising  in  a 
pyramidal  shape  high  in  the  sky,  often  so  bright  that  it 
overshadowed  the  brightness  of  the  Milky  Way  and  the  rays 
of  the  moon,  the  beautiful  yellow  light  diminishing  towards 
183 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  apex.  It  cast  a  gentle  radiance  on  the  clouds  around  it, 
and  sometimes  formed  almost  a  ring,  but  never  perfect, 
having  a  break  near  the  meridian;  at  times  being  reflected 
in  the  east  with  nearly  as  much  brilliancy,  if  not  as  much  as 
in  the  west,  and  making  one  almost  imagine  a  second  sun- 
rise. 

The  Zodiacal  Light  in  its  brightest  part  is  more 
brilliant  than  the  Milky  Way.  It  is  brightest  along 
its  central  line,  and  gradually  fades  away  at  the  sides. 
It  has  at  times  been  supposed  to  be  variable  in  brill- 
iancy. Humboldt  says  that  in  Europe  several  suc- 
cessive years  elapsed  during  which  it  was  affirmed 
that  scarcely  any  Zodiacal  Light  could  be  seen.  He 
this  describes  his  observations  of  it  during  a  voyage 
from  Lima  to  the  western  coast  of  Mexico : 

For  three  or  four  nights,  between  10°  and  14°  north  lat- 
itude, the  Zodiacal  Light  has  appeared  in  greater  splendor 
than  I  have  ever  observed  it.  An  hour  after  sunset  it  was 
seen  in  great  brilliancy  between  Aldebaran  and  the  Pleiades. 
Narrow,  elongated  clouds  are  scattered  over  the  beautiful 
deep  azure  of  the  distant  horizon,  flitting  past  the  Zodiacal 
Light  as  before  a  golden  curtain. 

These  observations  were  made  about  the  middle 
of  March. 

Professor  Wright,  of  Yale,  has  found  that  the  spec- 
trum of  the  Zodiacal  Light  is  continuous,  indicating 
that  it  is  simply  reflected  sunlight,  and  Professor 
Young  apparently  favored  the  view  that  the  phenom- 
enon was  caused  by  the  existence  of  myriads  of  small 
meteoric  bodies  revolving  around  the  sun  nearly  in 
the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  and  "forming  a  thin,  flat 
sheet  like  one  of  Saturn's  rings,  and  extending  far 
184 


THE    ZODIACAL    LIGHT 

beyond  the  orbit  of  the  earth."  This  recalls  a  re- 
mark of  the  Russian  astronomer  Struve,  that,  in  all 
probability,  Saturn's  rings  viewed  from  that  planet 
itself  would  not  look  as  they  do  to  us,  but  would  ap- 
pear only  as  a  shimmering  wreath  surrounding  the 
planet,  and  perhaps  no  brighter  than  the  Milky  Way. 
Sir  John  Herschel,  who  entertained  a  similar  idea  of 
the  nature  of  the  Zodiacal  Light,  suggested  that  the 
presence  of  this  phenomenon  might  give  the  sun,  as 
viewed  from  distant  space,  the  appearance  of  a  neb- 
ulous star.  He  also  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
Zodiacal  Light  might  be  "no  other  than  the  denser 
part  of  that  medium  which,  we  have  some  reason  to 
believe,  resists  the  motion  of  comets ;  loaded  perhaps 
with  the  actual  materials  of  the  tails  of  millions  of 
those  bodies  of  which  they  have  been  stripped  in  their 
successive  perihelion  passages." 

But  the  whole  subject  is  still  involved  in  obscurity, 
and  a  generally  acceptable  theory  of  the  origin  and 
nature  of  the  Zodiacal  Light  remains  to  be  found. 


XVII 

THE    PLANETS 

THE  distinction  between  the  stars  and  the  planets 
as  they  appear  in  the  sky  is  one  which  is  never 
popularly  made.  For  all  except  astronomers  and  per- 
sons accustomed  to  view  the  heavens,  the  planets  are 
simply  stars.  There  is  an  unquestionable  difference  to 
a  ***ained  eye  between  the  light  of  a  planet  and  that 
of  a  star,  the  first  being  steadier  and  less  affected  by 
the  phenomenon  known  as  scintillation,  but  to  most 
eyes  this  difference  is  not  readily  apparent,  although 
everybody  recognizes  it  when  once  it  has  been  point- 
ed out.  The  fact  is  the  stars  are  so  distant  that, 
notwithstanding  their  immense  actual  magnitude, 
they  appear,  even  with  the  telescope,  as  mere  points, 
while  the  planets  are  near  enough  to  present  sensible 
disks.  Moreover,  the  stars  shine  with  a  piercing  light 
of  their  own,  while  the  planets  are  luminous  only  with 
reflected  sunlight. 

Nevertheless,  a  very  large  planet,  like  Jupiter,  or 
one  of  moderate  size,  like  Venus,  which  comes  rela- 
tively near  to  us,  outshines  even  the  most  brilliant  of 
the  stars.  Venus  has  often  been  distinctly  seen  in  the 
daytime  with  the  naked  eye,  and  its  light  is  at  times 
sufficiently  bright  to  cast  a  shadow.  Even  Mercury 
1 86 


THE    PLANETS 

and  Mars,  except  when  the  latter  is  in  the  more  dis- 
tant parts  of  its  orbit,  are  brighter  than  standard 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  Mars  in  opposition, 
with  its  startlingly  red  light,  overpowers  the  most 
brilliant  stars  that  lie  along  its  path. 

For  the  ordinary  observer  of  the  heavens  the  cease- 
less changes  of  place  which  the  planets  undergo  make 
their  identification  more  or  less  difficult.  Since,  like 
the  earth,  they  all  travel  regularly  around  the  sun, 
it  is  manifest  that  they  must  appear  continually  in 
motion  against  the  background  of  the  starry  sky, 
which  is  spread  like  a  spangled  curtain  behind  them. 
The  rapidity  of  their  changes  depends  upon  their 
distance  from  the  sun.  The  nearer  ones,  travelling 
at  a  higher  speed  and  having  shorter  orbits,  go  ro*  id 
in  a  relatively  brief  time,  while  the  more  distant  ones, 
moving  more  slowly  and  having  much  larger  orbits, 
require  long  periods  to  complete  their  circuits.  Two 
of  the  planets,  Mercury  and  Venus,  being  nearer  the 
sun  than  the  earth  is,  never  appear  to  us  at  a  point 
in  the  sky  opposite  to  the  sun,  but  are  always  seen 
on  one  side  or  the  other  of  it — sometimes  on  the  east 
side  after  sunset,  and  sometimes  on  the  west  side 
before  sunrise.  They  are  the  true  Morning  and  Even- 
ing stars.  The  other  planets,  being  all  more  distant 
than  the  earth  from  the  sun,  may  be  seen  in  any  part 
of  the  sky  along  the  zodiacal  circle  at  any  hour  of  the 
night,  their  visibility  at  any  particular  time  depending 
upon  their  positions  in  their  orbits,  and  also  upon  the 
position  of  the  earth  with  reference  to  the  sun.  They 
maybe  behind  the  sun  as  viewed  from  the  earth,  or  they 
may  be  in  the  quarter  of  the  sky  opposite  to  the  sun. 
187 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

But  the  apparent  perplexity  involved  in  the  effort 
to  follow  the  planets  through  the  sky,  which  seems 
hopeless  to  those  who  have  never  undertaken  to  solve 
the  problem  for  themselves,  disappears  as  soon  as 
they  have  once  been  recognized,  and  their  places  at 
any  given  time  have  been  ascertained.  After  that, 
from  a  knowledge  of  their  orbital  movements,  they 
can  be  found  at  any  subsequent  time. 

We  shall  concern  ourselves  here  with  only  five  of 
the  planets — Mercury,  Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Sat- 
urn— because  the  other  two,  Uranus  and  Neptune,  are 
too  faint  on  account  of  distance  to  be  studied  with 
the  naked  eye.  A  diagram  has  been  made  to  aid  the 
reader  in  tracing  the  places  of  the  three  outer  planets 
named.  In  this  diagram  the  positions  of  the  twelve  zo- 
diacal constellations  are  shown,  and  within  the  circle 
of  the  constellations  three  other  circles  are  drawn — one 
for  Saturn,  one  for  Jupiter,  and  one  for  Mars ;  and  on 
these  circles  the  positions  of  the  respective  planets  are 
marked  in  twelve  successive  years,  from  1908  to  1920, 
covering  a  complete  revolution  of  Jupiter.  Simply  for 
convenience  of  reference,  the  positions  are  shown  at 
the  opening  of  each  year.  For  Jupiter,  and  more  es- 
pecially for  Saturn,  these  positions  change  very  little 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  but  Mars  travels  much 
more  swiftly.  By  noting  in  what  constellation  the 
planet  appears,  as  shown  in  the  outer  circle,  its  ap- 
proximate place  among  the  stars  may  be  ascertained. 
When  once  it  is  known  that  Jupiter,  Saturn,  or  Mars 
is  to  be  seen  within  the  borders  of  any  given  constella- 
tion, no  difficulty  will  be  found  in  recognizing  the 
planet  concerned,  especially  after  the  reader  has  be- 
188 


THE    PLANETS 

come  a  little  familiar  with  the  grouping  of  the  stars 
in  each  constellation,  for  then  the  presence  of  a  large 
planet  among  the  well-known  stars  proclaims  itself. 


The  recognition  of  the  planets  is  rendered  so  much 
the  easier  by  the  fact  that  their  orbits  are  all  con- 
fined within  the  limits  of  the  zodiacal  band,  which  ex- 
tends eight  degrees  on  each  side  of  the  ecliptic,  or  the 
apparent  path  of  the  sun.  Accordingly  they  are  al- 
ways to  be  found  in  one  or  another  of  the  zodiacal 
189 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

constellations.  They  all  advance  from  west  to  east, 
although  when  they  are  nearest  to  the  earth  they  ap- 
pear for  a  relatively  short  time  to  move  slowly  back- 
ward, an  effect  of  the  more  rapid  motion  of  the  earth 
in  passing  them. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  position  of  a  planet  at 
the  beginning  of  any  particular  year  may  be  so  close 
to  the  sun  that  the  planet  cannot  readily  be  seen  at 
that  time,  for  the  sun  makes  the  round  of  the  zodiac 
once  every  year,  passing  each  of  the  planets  in  succes- 
sion. The  reader  may  allow  for  this,  and  may  esti- 
mate when  the  planet  will  be  far  enough  from  the  sun 
to  be  visible  by  simply  noting  that  in  January  the  sun 
passes  from  Sagittarius  into  Capricornus,  in  February 
from  Capricornus  through  Aquarius,  in  March  from 
Aquarius  through  Pisces,  in  April  from  Pisces  through 
Aries,  in  May  through  Taurus,  in  June  from  Taurus 
into  Gemini,  in  July  from  Gemini  through  Cancer,  in 
August  from  Cancer  through  Leo,  in  September  from 
Leo  into  Virgo,  in  October  through  Virgo  into  Libra, 
in  November  through  Libra  into  Scorpio,  and  in  De- 
cember from  Scorpio  into  Sagittarius. 

The  constellations,  as  before  explained,  have,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  drifted 
out  of  connection  with  the  framework  of  the  zodiac 
which  is  formed  with  the  signs  as  a  basis.  Thus  the 
sign  Aries  is  now  in  the  constellation  Pisces,  the  sign 
Taurus  covers  the  constellation  Aries,  etc.  In  the  al- 
manacs the  course  of  the  sun  and  planets  it  traced  by 
the  zodiacal  signs,  but  since  it  is  the  constellations 
and  not  the  signs  which  are  visible  in  the  sky,  I  have 
used  the  constellations  for  reference  in  indicating  the 
190 


THE    PLANETS 

places  of  the  planets.  The  chief  disadvantage  arises 
from  the  fact  that  while  the  signs  are  all  exactly  thirty 
degrees  in  length,  the  constellations  are  of  various 
lengths,  and  have  more  or  less  arbitrary  boundaries. 
Yet  their  distinguishing  star  groups  render  them  al- 
ways recognizable,  and  so  they  may  serve  for  sign- 
posts in  naked-eye  observation  to  indicate  the  move- 
ments of  the  planets. 

For  the  two  inner  planets,  Mercury  and  Venus,  no 
diagram  covering  any  considerable  period  of  time  is 
practicable.  But  many  almanacs  show  when  they 
are  to  be  seen  as  morning  and  evening  stars,  and 
those  who  wish  to  trace  their  apparitions  in  advance 
may  do  so  with  the  aid  of  the  "  Barritt-Serviss  Star 
and  Planet  Finder."  The  period  of  Mercury  from 
one  conjunction  to  the  next  is  about  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  days,  and  that  of  Venus  is  about  five  hundred 
and  eighty-four  days. 

To  the  ancients,  watching  the  constant  movements 
of  the  planets,  as  well  as  of  the  sun  and  the  moon, 
these  movements  being  superposed  upon  the  appar- 
ent annual  revolution  of  the  entire  heavens,  the 
celestial  system  appeared  extremely  complex,  and 
hence  arose  the  old  Ptolemaic  theory  that  the  earth 
was  the  common  centre  of  the  whole,  while  the 
periodic  backward  movements  of  the  planets  were 
produced  by  motion  in  epicycles.  But  ages  before 
Ptolemy  the  geocentric  idea  had  prevailed,  and  upon 
it  was  based  the  poetically  beautiful  conception  of 
the  Music  of  the  Spheres.  Each  planet,  including  the 
sun  and  the  moon,  was  supposed  to  be  carried  in  a 
transparent  crystalline  sphere,  and  the  motion  of 
191 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

these  spheres  rotating  one  within  another  was  con- 
ceived to  give  rise  to  a  celestial  harmony  audible  to 
the  gods,  but  beyond  the  range  of  human  ears: 

There's  not  the  smallest  orb  which  thou  behold'st 
But  in  his  motion  like  an  angel  sings, 
Still  quiring  to  the  young-eyed  cherubims. 
Such  harmony  is  in  immortal  souls, 
But  whilst  this  muddy  vesture  of  decay 
Doth  grossly  close  in  it  we  cannot  hear  it. 

— Merchant  of  Venice,  Act  V.,  Scene  i. 

An  elaborate  scale  of  harmony  was  invented  repre- 
senting the  tones  of  the  various  spheres.  Cicero  was 
delighted  with  these  old  Greek  ideas,  and  gave  them 
elegant  expression.  He  thought  that  the  moon  should 
be  regarded  as  the  bass  singer  in  this  heavenly  choir, 
while  the  fixed  stars  furnished  the  higher  notes.  Kep- 
ler, who  spent  as  much  time  in  such  dreams  as  in 
scientific  study  of  the  universe,  gave  the  bass  notes 
to  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  the  tenor  to  Mars,  the  con- 
tralto to  the  Earth  and  Venus,  and  the  soprano  to 
Mercury. 

Mercury 

The  five  naked-eye  planets  were  naturally  the  only 
ones  known  to  the  ancients,  and  of  these  Mercury, 
the  nearest  to  the  sun,  was  probably  the  last  to  be 
recognized.  The  time  of  his  first  discovery  is  un- 
known, but  there  is  extant  an  observation  of  him  made 
sixty  years  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  a  Chinese  observation  in  the  year  118  B.C.  He 
must  have  been  seen  at  a  much  earlier  date,  alter- 
192 


THE    PLANETS 

nately  in  the  morning  and  the  evening  sky.  At  first 
he  was  supposed  to  be  two  independent  planets,  and 
accordingly  received  two  names.  As  a  morning  star 
the  Egyptians  called  him  Set,  and  as  an  evening 
star  Horus.  The  corresponding  names  among  the 
Hindoos  were  Buddha  and  Rauhineya,  and  among  the 
Greeks  Apollo  and  Mercury.  Finally  the  fact  was 
recognized  that  the  supposed  two  planets  were  really 
one,  and  the  name  Mercury  was  universally  bestowed 
upon  it  in  the  Greco-Roman  world.  This  name  after- 
wards became  associated  with  our  fourth  day  of  the 
week,  which  appears  as  Wednesday  in  English,  de- 
rived through  the  Saxon  Wuotan,  but  which  was 
Mercurii  dies  in  Latin,  whence  the  French  Mercredi. 

Cercury  (Rp^i)?  in  Greek)  was  the  messenger  of 
gods,  and  himself  a  god,  who  especially  pat- 
ronized orators,  merchants,  travellers,  and  thieves. 
He  was  the  first  of  thieves,  a  very  Olympian  Tweed, 
for  he  feared  nobody  when  the  itch  for  possession 
seized  him.  He  stole  Jove's  sceptre,  Mars's  sword, 
Neptune's  trident,  and  Venus's  girdle.  He  could 
assume  any  shape,  and  nobody  could  trust  him;  and 
yet  the  gods  loved  him.  He  was  the  personification 
of  shrewdness.  If  myth-making  were  in  fashion  now 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  prototype  for 
Mercury. 

Astronomers  have  to  acknowledge  that  their  science 
was  born  as  astrology,  and  the  astrologers  based  their 
system  of  celestial  influences  mainly  upon  the  planets 
(including  the  sun  and  the  moon).  They  adopted  the 
ancient  ideas  about  the  character  of  Mercury.  Says 
old  William  Lilly: 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

We  may  not  call  him  either  masculine  or  feminine,  for  he 
is  either  one  or  the  other  as  joined  to  any  planet,  for  if  in 
conjunction  with  a  masculine  planet  he  becomes  masculine, 
if  with  a  feminine  then  feminine ;  but  of  his  own  nature  he  is 
cold  and  dry,  and  therefore  melancholy.  With  the  good  he 
is  good,  with  the  evil  planets  ill.  He  is  author  of  subtlety, 
tricks,  devices,  perjury.  Being  well  dignified,  he  represents 
a  man  of  a  subtle  and  political  brain  and  intellect,  an  ex- 
cellent disputant  and  logician,  using  much  eloquence  in  his 
speech  ...  a  searcher  into  all  kinds  of  mysteries  and  learning, 
sharp  and  witty,  naturally  desirous  to  travel,  a  man  of  un- 
wearied fancy,  curious  in  the  search  for  any  occult  knowledge, 
able  by  his  own  genius  to  produce  wonders,  given  to  divination. 
If  he  turn  merchant  no  man  exceeds  him  in  way  of  trade  or 
invention  of  new  ways  whereby  to  obtain  wealth.  ...  If  ill- 
dignified  he  is  a  troublesome  wit,  a  kind  of  phrenetic  man, 
his  tongue  and  pen  against  every  man,  a  great  liar,  boaster, 
tattler,  busybody,  a  tale-carrier,  addicted  to  wicked  acts, 
easy  of  belief,  an  ass  or  very  idiot,  constant  in  no  place  or 
opinion,  cheating  and  thieving  everywhere.  If  he  prove  a 
divine,  then  a  mere  verbal  fellow,  frothy,  of  no  judgment, 
easily  perverted.  .  .  .  He  generally  signifies  all  literary  men, 
philosophers,  mathematicians,  astrologians,  merchants,  sculp- 
tors, poets,  orators,  advocates,  schoolmasters,  ambassadors, 
artificers;  sometimes  thieves,  grammarians,  tailors,  usurers. 

Perhaps  the  most  curious  thing  in  connection  with 
this  is  that  astrology  still  survives,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  many  thousands  of  men  and  women  yet 
think,  or  allow  themselves  to  be  persuaded,  that  if 
Mercury  presided  over  their  birth  they  must  partake 
of  these  qualities,  according  as  his  protean  nature 
may  have  been  affected  at  the  time  by  the  influence 
of  other  planets.  These  things,  however  ridiculous 
they  may  be,  have  played  far  too  great  a  part  in 
human  history  to  be  ignored.  Even  Kepler  was  af- 
194 


THE    PLANETS 

fected  by  astrological  superstition,  and  Tycho  cast 
horoscopes  when  royalty  commanded  and  he  couldn't 
refuse.  Galileo,  to  banish  the  fears  of  the  wife  of  the 
Grand-Duke  Ferdinando  I.,  who  was  very  ill,  recast 
his  horoscope,  and  predicted  that  he  had  yet  many 
years  to  live.  But,  alas!  for  Galileo's  skill  in  astrology, 
Ferdinando  died  within  twenty-two  weeks. 

As  a  naked-eye  object  Mercury  is  very  brilliant 
when  he  can  be  seen,  which  is  not  very  frequently. 
He  never  gets  more  than  about  twenty-eight  degrees 
from  the  sun — less  than  the  length  of  one  zodiacal  sign. 
As  a  morning  star  he  is  best  seen,  from  our  latitudes, 
in  the  autumn,  and  as  an  evening  star  in  the  spring. 
At  his  greatest  elongation  he  never  sets  or  rises  much 
-more  than  two  hours  after,  or  before,  the  sun.  It  is 
a  legend  in  astronomical  history  that  Copernicus 
never  succeeded  in  seeing  Mercury.  Mr.  Hind,  the 
distinguished  English  astronomer,  never  saw  Mercury 
with  the  naked  eye  but  once  in  his  life.  On  account 
of  his  shy  habits  he  excites  curiosity,  and  it  is  very 
well  worth  anybody's  while  to  get  a  glimpse  of  him 
when  he  is  well  placed.  He  glows  in  the  twilight  with 
great  brilliancy,  although  far  inferior  in  brightness 
to  Venus  when  she  is  near.  Occasionally  the  two 
planets  may  be  seen  in  conjunction,  in  the  morning 
or  evening  sky,  and  the  spectacle  is  always  an  inter- 
esting one.  The  light  of  Venus  is  whiter  and  more 
dazzling,  probably  owing  to  the  dense  clouds  in  her 
atmosphere.  Mercury  sometimes  presents  a  slightly 
reddish  tint.  Owing  to  his  rapid  movements,  he  soon 
disappears  in  the  sun's  rays,  only  to  emerge  again  a 
few  weeks  later  on  the  other  side.  Perhaps  the  sur- 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

prise  experienced  by  the  eye  in  seeing  Mercury  so 
bright  in  the  retreating  or  the  on-coming  daylight 
adds  to  the  effect  that  he  produces.  To  the  eye  of 
fancy  he  resembles  a  gem  pinned  upon  the  curtain  of 
the  evening,  and  the  Greeks  often  spoke  of  Mercury 
by  the  name  of  The  Sparkler. 

Mercury  has  given  his  name  to  a  metal  which,  in 
some  respects,  is  not  unlike  the  planet,  being  very 
sparkling  in  appearance  and  very  shifty  in  conduct, 
running  away  and  hiding  itself  whenever  the  chance 
offers.  The  old  alchemists  originally  bestowed  the 
name  of  Mercury  upon  all  volatile  metals,  but  since 
their  time  it  has  been  restricted  to  "quicksilver,"  a 
word  derived  from  the  Latin  argentum  vivum.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that,  according  to  recent  determinations, 
the  density  of  the  planet  is  about  equal  to  that  of 
the  metal  mercury. 

The  ancient  idea  that  Mercury  was  the  patron  of 
travellers  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  rapid 
movements  of  the  planet.  Being,  in  round  numbers, 
only  36,000,000  miles  from  the  sun,  his  mean  orbital 
velocity  amounts  to  twenty-nine  miles  per  second, 
while  when  he  is  travelling  at  his  highest  speed  he  goes 
thirty-five  miles  per  second.  The  difference  in  his 
velocity  at  different  times  arises  from  the  great  eccen- 
tricity of  his  orbit.  When  in  perihelion  he  is  only 
28,500,000  miles  from  the  sun,  while  at  aphelion  this 
is  increased  to  43,500,000.  In  other  words,  his  dis- 
tance from  the  sun  varies  to  the  extent  of  15,000,000 
miles,  and  this  in  a  period  of  only  about  six  weeks! 
On  the  average  he  receives  from  the  sun  nearly  six 
and  three-quarters  times  as  much  heat  and  light  as 
196 


THE    PLANETS 

the  earth  does,  but  this  amount  is  so  variable  that 
it  is  more  than  twice  as  great  in  perihelion  as  in 
aphelion. 

Mercury's  period  of  revolution,  or  his  year,  is  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  less  than  eighty-eight  days,  and 
he  comes  into  conjunction  with  the  earth  once  in 
about  one  hundred  and  sixteen  days.  From  the 
earth  his  distance  varies  from  about  57,000,000  miles 
at  inferior  conjunction  to  about  129,000,000  miles  at 
superior  conjunction.  If  the  orbit  of  Mercury  lay  in 
the  same  plane  as  that  of  the  earth,  he  would  be  seen 
crossing  the  disk  of  the  sun  as  a  round  black  spot 
three  times  every  year — i.  e.,  every  time  he  is  in  in- 
ferior conjunction  with  the  earth.  But  his  orbit  is, 
in  fact,  so  inclined  to  that  of  our  globe  that  these 
transits  across  the  sun  are  relatively  rare.  On  the 
average,  there  are  thirteen  of  them  every  one  hun- 
dred years,  and  they  always  occur  either  in  May  or 
November.  The  latest  transit  of  Mercury  occurred 
in  November,  1907,  and  the  next  four  will  occur  No- 
vember, 6,  1914;  May  7,  1924;  November  8,  1927;  and 
May  10,  1937. 

Mercury  is  the  smallest  of  the  planets,  the  asteroids 
being  left  out  of  consideration.  His  diameter  is  only 
three  thousand  miles,  so  that  his  surface  is  but  one- 
seventh  as  great  as  that  of  the  earth.  Nevertheless, 
as  already  remarked,  his  density  is  very  great,  amount- 
ing, according  to  the  estimates  of  Backlund,  to  near- 
ly 12.5,  that  of  water  being  seven.  This  is  nearly 
the  density  of  the  metal  mercury.  This  extraordinary 
density  may  be  regarded  as  an  indication  that  the 
planet  is  entirely  metallic  in  its  constitution.  Esti- 
197 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

mates  of  the  density  vary  widely,  but  they  are  all 
high.  Being  situated  so  near  the  centre  of  the  solar 
system,  there  are  reasons  why  Mercury  might  natural- 
ly be  composed  of  materials  of  greater  mean  density 
than  those  found  in  the  earth.  The  heaviest  sub- 
stances would,  in  the  process  of  condensation  from  a 
nebulous  state,  seek  the  centre.  Being  nearer  than 
the  earth  to  the  sun,  Mercury  presents  in  succession 
all  the  phases  which  are  shown  by  the  moon,  but  these 
can  only  be  seen  with  the  aid  of  telescopes. 

The  question  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  life  al- 
ways arises  in  connection  with  the  planets,  and  it  can 
only  be  answered  in  a  general  way  by  appealing  to 
our  knowledge  of  their  physical  condition,  as  well  as 
of  their  situation  with  respect  to  the  sun,  which  is 
the  universal  source  of  light,  heat,  and  radiant  energy 
of  all  kinds.  For  such  information  we  are  partly 
dependent  upon  telescopic  observation.  This  is  diffi- 
cult on  account  of  the  planet's  nearness  to  the  sun, 
and  in  recent  times  many  such  observations  have 
been  made  in  full  daylight  when  Mercury  is  high 
above  the  obscuring  mists  and  confusing  atmospheric 
currents  of  the  horizon.  The  results  are  not  very 
encouraging.  Few  of  the  surface  features  of  the 
planet  can  be  clearly  discerned.  There  is  nothing  to 
indicate  the  presence  of  oceans  and  continents,  al- 
though some  observers  have  thought  that  they  found 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  extremely  lofty  moun- 
tains. The  general  impression  at  present  is  that  Mer- 
cury's surface  is  altogether  barren  as  far  as  life  is  con- 
cerned, and  that  it  more  nearly  resembles  the  moon 
than  the  earth. 

198 


THE    PLANETS 

Schiaparelli,  Lowell,  and  other  observers  believe 
that  they  have  found  permanent  markings  upon 
Mercury  of  an  unknown  character  (Lowell's  drawings 
show  many  of  them  in  the  form  of  narrow  lines  cross- 
ing one  another  like  the  "canals"  of  Mars),  and  upon 
observation  of  these  markings  has  been  based  the 
startling  conclusion  that  Mercury  does  not  revolve 
rapidly  upon  his  axis,  like  the  earth,  as  all  the  older 
observers  supposed,  but  turns  only  once  in  the  course 
of  a  revolution  around  the  sun.  The  result,  of  course, 
is  that  the  little  planet  lies  in  a  predicament  with  re- 
gard to  the  sun,  precisely  like  that  of  the  moon  with 
regard  to  the  earth.  He  keeps  always  the  same  face 
towards  the  sun,  from  which  it  follows  that  one  half 
is  exposed  to  perpetual  day,  while  the  other  half  is 
plunged  in  unending  night.  The  effect  upon  any 
forms  of  life  existing  on  his  surface  may  be  left  for 
the  imagination  to  trace.  Owing,  however,  to  the 
great  eccentricity  of  his  orbit,  there  must  be  a  zone, 
perpendicular  to  the  equator  and  reaching  from  pole 
to  pole,  over  which  the  sun  appears  to  rise  and  set 
once  in  the  course  of  a  revolution.  This  zone  is  about 
fourteen  hundred  miles  in  breadth  at  the  equator, 
diminishing  to  zero  at  the  poles.  But  the  existence 
of  this  zone  does  not  help  much  in  favoring  the  hy- 
pothesis of  the  possible  presence  of  organic  life. 

The  cause  of  the  coincidence  in  the  rotation  and 
revolution  periods  is  believed  to  be  "tidal  friction," 
a  subject  mathematically  developed  by  Professor 
George  Darwin,  and  summed  up  by  him  in  his  book 
on  The  Tides. 

Another  thing  inimical  to  life  on  Mercury  is  his 
199 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE^ 

nearness  to  the  sun.  We  have  already  seen  that,  on 
the  average,  he  gets  nearly  six  and  three-quarter  times 
as  much  solar  light  and  heat  as  comes  to  the  earth. 
This  in  itself  would  seem  to  prohibit  the  presence  of . 
beings  resembling  ourselves,  for  it  must  make  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  planet's  surface  far  above 
that  of  boiling  water,  so  that  no  liquid  can  exist  on  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  little  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  any  clouds  or  any  watery  vapor  on  Mer- 
cury. But  the  situation  is  made  still  more  difficult 
by  the  fact  of  the  great  and  rapid  changes  of  tempera- 
ture which  Mercury  undergoes  on  account  of  the 
eccentricity  of  the  orbit.  When  he  is  nearest  to  the 
sun  he  receives  two  and  a  quarter  times  as  much  light 
and  heat  as  when  he  is  farthest  from  the  sun,  and  the 
change  from  one  position  to  the  other  occupies  only 
six  weeks.  This  is  to  be  plunged  from  the  frying-pan 
into  the  fire  with  a  vengeance!  The  only  thing  in 
which  the  surface  condition  of  Mercury  approaches 
close  to  that  of  the  earth  appears  to  be  the  force  of; 
gravity,  which  is  five-sixths  of  that  on  our  globe.  Ac- 
cordingly there  would  not  be  much  difference  in  the 
weight  of  a  man  on  Mercury  and  on  the  earth. 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  it  may  be  said  that  Mercury 
cannot  be  regarded  as  a  habitable  globe,  and  it  is 
exceedingly  doubtful  if  he  has  ever  had  any  inhabi- 
tants. If  so,  they  must  have  differed  very  widely  from 
the  creatures  of  the  earth.  So  we  must  dismiss,  with 
an  indulgent  smile,  the  speculations  of  delightful  old 
Thomas  Dick  concerning  the  number  of  intellectual 
beings  in  the  solar  system,  in  which  he  assigned  just 
8,960,000,000  inhabitants  to  the  planet  Mercury! 


THE    PLANETS 
Venus 

Gem  of  the  crimson-colored  even, 
Companion  of  retiring  day, 
Why  at  the  closing  gates  of  heaven, 
Beloved  star,  dost  thou  delay? 

— Campbell. 

The  zenith  of  poetic  suggestion  and  association 
among  celestial  objects  is  unquestionably  occupied  by 
the  planet  Venus.  The  singers  of  all  ages  and  all  peo- 
ples have  chanted  her  praises,  and  almost  universally 
she  has  been  associated  with  the  goddess  of  love : 

Etoile  qui  descend  stir  la  verte  colline, 
Triste  larme  d'argent  du  manteau  de  la  nuit, 
Toi  que  regarde  au  loin  le  patre  qui  chemine 
Tandis  que,  pas  a  pas,  son  long  troupeau  le  suit, 
Etoile!   ou  t'en  vas-tu  dans  cette  nuit  immense? 
Cherches-tu  sur  la  rive  un  lit  dans  les  roseaux? 
Ou  t'en  vas-tu,  si  belle  a  1'heure  du  silence, 
Tomber  comme  une  perle  au  sein  profond  des  eaux? 
Ah!   si  tu  dois  mourir,  bel  astre,  et  si  sa  tete 
Va  dans  la  vaste  mer  plonger  tes  blonds  cheveux, 
Avant  de  nous  quitter  un  seul  instant  arrete: 
Etoile  d'amour  ne  descends  pas  des  cieux! 

— Lamartine . 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  how  Venus  got  her  name. 
Homer,  who  has  mentioned  no  other  planet,  could  not 
^omit  her.  HisJer^tTfe^fer  Venus  is  "the  Beautiful." 
Like  Mercury,  Venus  appears  in  succession  as  morn- 
ing and  as  evening  star,  and,  like  Mercury,  she  was 
at  first  supposed  to  be  two  stars;  and  she  received 
two  distinct  names — Phosphorus  in  the  morning,  and 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

Hesperus  in  the  evening  sky/  Pythagoras  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  first  to  identify  Hesperus 
with  Venus.  The  earliest  recorded  observation  of 
Venus  was  made  686  B.C.,  but  she  must  have  been 
watched  with  admiration  from  the  beginning  of  hu- 
man history.  Some  have  identified  her  with  Isaiah's 
"Lucifer,  Son  of  the  Morning."  The  Arabs  called  her 
El  Zorah,  the  "Splendor  of  Heaven."  Sirius  himself 
pales  to  insignificance  in  comparison  with  Venus  when 
she  is  near  inferior  conjunction  with  the  earth.  To 
many  persons  unfamiliar  with  the  sky  she  then  ap- 
pears incredibly  brilliant  for  a  star,  and  since  the 
development  of  electric  lamps  she  has  often  been 
mistaken  for  an  aerial  signal  sent  aloft  in  the  night, 
^rago  relates  that  in  1797,  when  Napoleon  returned 
to  Paris  after  his  campaigns  in  Italy,  he  was  aston- 
ished to  see  the  crowds  around  the  palace  of  the 
Luxembourg  fixing  their  eyes  upon  the  sky.  Then  he 
looked  up  himself  and  saw  Venus  gleaming  there  in 
full  daylight.  The  people  enthusiastically  applauded 
the  apparition  as  his  star.  In  fact,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
see  Venus  by  day  if  one  knows  exactly  where  to  look/ 
when  she  is  nearest  to  the  earth,  and  when  her  dis- 
tance is  reduced  to  about  26,000,000  miles.  Her 
light  then  is  about  ^one-thousandth  of  that  received 
from  the  full  moon,  but,  being  concentrated  almost 
in  a  point,  it  impresses  the  eye  with  dazzling  efful- 
gence. 

The  reason  why  Venus,  like  Mercury,  cannot  be 
seen  in  the  midnight  sky,  but  only  before  or  after 
the  sun,  in  the  morning  and  the  evening,  has  already 
been  sufficiently  explained.  But  while  Mercury,  on 


THE    PLANETS 


account  of  his  nearness  to  the  sun,  can  be  observed 
only  with  some  difficulty,  Venus,  whose  average  dis- 
tance from  the  sun  is  67,000,000  miles,  goes  far  enough 
away  from  him,  first  in  the  east  and  then  in  the  west, 
to  become  very  conspicuous.  At  her  greatest  elon- 
gation she  may  appear  as  far  as  forty-seven  degrees 
from  the  sun.  She  returns  to  inferior  conjunction 
every  584  days.  Her  conjunction  in  1908  occurs 
July  6th.  With  this  as  a  basis  her  future  movements 
can  readily  be  estimated.  Her  orbital  period,  or  time 
of  revolution  around  the  sun,  is  225  days.  That,  of 
course,  represents  the  length  of  her  year. 

The  astrologers  have  not  been  less  attentive  to 
Venus  than  to  Mercury,  and  of  course  they  have 
recognized  her  "qualities"  in  her  conventional  char- 
acter as  the  representative  of  Aphrodite.  I  quote 
again  from  Lilly: 

She  is  a  feminine  planet,  temperately  cold  and  moist; 
nocturnal,  the  lesser  fortune,  author  of  mirth  and  cheerful- 
ness. She  signifies,  when  well  dignified,  a  quiet  man,  not 
given  to  law,  quarrel,  or  wrangling,  not  vicious,  pleasant, 
neat,  and  spruce,  rather  drinking  much  than  gluttonous; 
often  entangled  in  love  matters,  zealous  in  affections,  mu- 
sical, delighting  in  amusement,  easy  of  belief,  not  given  to 
labor,  or  to  take  any  pains;  a  right  virtuous  man  or  woman, 
often  jealous,  yet  without  cause.  When  ill-dignified,  a  riot- 
ous, expensive  person,  wholly  given  to  dissipation,  lewd, 
fantastical,  a  mere  skip-jack,  of  no  faith,  a  mere  lazy  com- 
panion, nothing  careful  of  the  things  of  this  life  or  anything 
religious.  .  .  .  She  signifies  musicians,  gamesters,  silkmen, 
mercers,  painters,  jewellers,  players,  lapidaries,  embroider- 
ers, choristers,  fiddlers;  when  joined  with  the  moon,  ballad- 
singers,  perfumers,  seamstresses,  engravers,  upholsterers, 
glovers, -and  such  as  sell  those  commodities  which  adorn 
203 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

women,  either  in  body,  as  clothes,  or  in  face,  as  complex- 
ion waters.     Her  cities  are  Vienna  and  Turin. 

The  old  astrologer  avers  that  "a  right  Venus  per- 
son is  a  pretty,  complete,  handsome  man  or  woman." 
And  another  astrologer  adds  that  those  who  have 
Venus  strong  in  their  nativities  invariably  have  dim- 
ples in  the  cheek  or  chin.  It  is  comforting  to  be  assured 
of  so  agreeable  a  mark  of  identification,  bestowed  by 
so  winning  a  member  of  the  old  Olympic  conclave. 

From  Venus  is  derived  the  name  of  the  sixth  day 
of  the  week,  Veneris  dies ;  in  French,  Vendredi. 

In  astronomical  history  Venus  is  celebrated  for 
having  furnished  to  Galileo,  during  his  first  observa- 
tion with  the  telescope  in  1610,  a  crushing  refutation 
of  the  old  Ptolemaic,  or  geocentric,  system.  Venus, 
like  Mercury,  exhibits  phases  similar  to  those  of  the 
moon  as  she  moves  through  her  orbit.  When  she  is 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  sun  from  the  earth,  she 
appears  round  like  the  full  moon;  when  she  moves 
between  the  sun  and  the  earth,  she  passes  through 
the  various  crescent  and  waning  phases.  These 
Galileo  discovered  with  his  little  telescope.  But  it 
was  dangerous  in  his  day  to  upset  received  opinions, 
and  he  kept  the  discovery  to  himself  for  a  while, 
simply  confiding  to  his  friend  Giulio  de'  Medici  an 
enigmatic  announcement  of  it,  to  which  he  himself 
later  furnished  the  clew.  For  reference  it  may  be 
well  to  give  Galileo's  Latin  anagram,  as  he  sent  it  in 
September,  1610,  and  his  explanation  of  it,  sent  in 
January,  1611: 

HCBC  immatura,  a  ine,  jam  jrustra,  leguntur. — 0.  Y. 
204 


THE    PLANETS 

Neglecting  the  superfluous  letters  0.  Y.,  this  reads 
in  English:  "These  unripe  things  are  read  as  yet  in 
vain  by  me." 

The  explanation  was  made  by  simply  transposing 
the  letters  of  the  Latin  anagram  so  that  it  now  reads : 

Cynthia  figuras  cemulatur  Mater  Amorum. 

This  means  in  English:  "The  Mother  of  Loves 
imitates  the  shapes  of  Cynthia."  By  the  "Mother 
of  Loves,"  of  course,  he  meant  Venus,  and  by  "Cyn- 
thia" the  moon. 

The  smallest  modern  telescope  easily  shows  the 
phases  of  Venus,  which,  at  first,  were  imperfectly  re- 
vealed by  Galileo's  instrument. 

Like  Mercury,  also,  Venus  at  certain  times  passes 
across  the  disk  of  the  sun.  These  transits  of  Venus 
are  both  more  rare  and  more  important  than  those 
of  Mercury.  For  reasons  arising  out  of  the  relations 
between  the  orbital  movements  of  Venus  and  the 
earth,  the  transits  occur  in  pairs,  and  always  either 
at  the  beginning  of  June  or  the  beginning  of  Decem- 
ber. The  two  transits  constituting  a  pair  occur  eight 
years  apart,  while  the  successive  pairs  are  separated 
by  an  interval  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years. 
The  latest  transits  of  Venus  occurred  in  December, 
1874,  and  December,  1882.  The  next  pair  is  due  in 
June,  2004,  and  June,  2012.  The  present  reader  will 
hardly  take  an  expectant  interest  in  the  statement 
that  when  in  transit  Venus  can  be  seen  with  the  naked 
eye  (protected  by  a  dark  glass),  and  that  the  perfect 
roundness  of  her  figure  and  the  inky  blackness  of  her 
silhouette  make  the  spectacle  surprisingly  attractive. 
205 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

The  transits  of  Venus  have  held  a  high  rank  among 
astronomical  phenomena  on  account  of  the  oppor- 
tunity which  they  afford  to  measure  the  parallax, 
and  hence  the  distance,  of  the  sun.  But  since  1882 
other  and  better  methods  have  been  developed,  so 
that  for  our  descendants  of  the  twenty-first  century 
these  transits  will  probably  possess  only  such  interest 
as  their  picturesqueness  and  their  historic  importance 
may  lend  to  them. 

There  are  many  circumstances  which  make  Venus 
particularly  interesting  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
problem  of  habitability.  In  the  first  place,  she  is 
very  nearly  the  twin  of  the  earth  in  size.  Her  diam- 
eter is  7700  miles,  and  her  surface  is  only  5  per  cent, 
less  in  area  than  that  of  our  globe.  Her  density 
is  somewhat  less  than  the  earth's,  so  that  the  force 
of  gravity  on  her  surface  is  about  85  per  cent,  of  ter- 
restrial gravity.  Anything  that  weighs  100  pounds 
on  the  earth  would  weigh  85  pounds  if  removed  to 
Venus.  As  far  as  this  influences  living  beings,  we 
might  suppose  that  they  would  be  perceptibly  larger 
on  Venus  than  on  the  earth. 

In  the  next  place,  Venus  possesses  an  abundant 
atmosphere,  charged  with  watery  vapor.  Both  tele- 
scopic and  spectroscopic  observations  prove  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  statement.  In  fact,  the  atmosphere 
of  Venus  appears  to  be  decidedly  more  dense  than 
the  earth's,  or  at  least  more  cloudy,  and  this  may 
possibly  be  an  important  agent  in  ameliorating  the 
climatic  condition  of  the  planet.  Being  so  much 
nearer  the  sun,  she  gets  about  twice  as  much  solar 
light  and  heat  as  we  do;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  her 
206 


THE    PLANETS 

orbit  is  the  most  nearly  circular  of  any  in  the  solar 
system,  so  that,  unlike  Mercury,  she  experiences  very 
slight  changes  in  the  amount  of  radiant  energy  poured 
down  upon  her  by  the  sun.  A  peculiar  composition 
of  the  atmosphere,  or  an  unbroken  canopy  of  clouds, 
may  modify  the  heat  and  the  light  to  a  surprising 
degree.  But  even  without  any  modification,  it  is 
not  certain  that  the  doubling  of  the  solar  radiation, 
as  compared  with  its  intensity  on  the  earth,  would 
be  prohibitive  of  life.  It  might  be  unbearable  to  us, 
but  agreeable  to  beings  constituted  to  meet  it.  We 
may  imagine  Venus  as  the  tropics  of  the  solar  system, 
a  world  of  intense  heats,  brilliant  colors,  sensuous  en- 
joyments, and  luxuriant  abundance  of  life. 

One  of  the  evidences  of  the  density  and  probable 
cloudiness  of  Venus's  atmosphere  is  furnished  by  her 
brilliancy.  She  is  so  dazzling  in  the  telescope  that 
hardly  any  of  her  features  are  discernible.  The  best 
observations  are  those  made  by  daylight,  when  some 
of  the  glare  is  taken  off.  Mr.  Lowell  has  made  the 
most  elaborate  drawings  of  Venus  that  we  possess, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  Mercury,  they  exhibit  in  some 
respects  a  striking  resemblance  to  telescopic  pictures 
of  Mars,  consisting  largely  of  narrow  lines  arranged 
on  a  system  of  intersections.  Taken  by  itself,  this 
might  be  regarded  as  a  suspicious  circumstance  sug- 
gesting possible  deception  of  the  observer's  eyes.  At 
any  rate,  the  markings  on  Venus  are  indistinct,  and 
astronomers  in  general  are  not  yet  disposed  to  accept 
the  conclusion  based  upon  them,  originally  by  Schia- 
parelli,  and  later  by  Lowell,  that  Venus,  like  Mercury, 
rotates  only  once  on  her  axis  in  the  course  of  one  of 
207 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

her  years,  thus  keeping  the  same  face  always  sun- 
ward. If  it  should  finally  turn  out  that  this  view  is 
well  founded,  then,  it  must  be  confessed,  the  theory 
of  the  habitability  of  Venus  would  be  much  more 
difficult  to  maintain.  A  world  half  day  and  half 
night,  with  its  absolute  contrasts  of  climate,  physical 
conditions,  scenery,  and  race  would  offer  a  marvellous 
field  for  the  play  of  the  imagination,  but  sober  science 
would  not  concern  itself  greatly  about  animated  ex- 
istence on  such  a  planetary  monstrosity. 

Brilliant  beyond  comparison  as  Venus  appears  to 
us,  the  earth  must  be  far  more  brilliant  when  it 
shines  in  the  midnight  sky  of  Venus.  When  Venus 
appears  brightest  to  our  eyes,  only  about  one-quarter 
of  her  surface,  as  seen  from  the  earth,  is  illuminated 
by  the  sun.  At  the  same  time,  nearly  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  earth  appears  illuminated  as  seen  from 
Venus.  A  short  time  afterwards,  when  Venus  be- 
comes lost  to  us  in  the  solar  rays,  the  earth  crosses 
her  meridian  at  midnight  in  the  form  of  a  full  moon, 
and,  as  observations  of  the  phases  both  of  the  moon 
and  of  the  interior  planets  prove,  the  gain  in  light 
reflected  from  a  fully  illuminated  globe  is  far  greater 
than  that  indicated  by  the  increase  in  the  area  of  the 
reflecting  surface.  It  has  been  shown,  for  instance, 
that  the  full  moon  sends  us  nine  times  as  much  light 
as  the  half-moon.  When  the  earth  is  in  its  full  phase, 
as  seen  from  Venus,  it  must  be  a  phenomenon  of 
truly  amazing  splendor,  while  the  attractiveness  of 
the  spectacle  is  singularly  increased  by  the  visibility 
at  the  same  time  of  the  moon,  slowly  circling  about 
the  earth.  If  the  desire  to  find  a  means  of  com- 
208 


THE    PLANETS 

municating  with  the  other  worlds  visible  in  our  sky 
has  seized  imaginative  minds  among  us,  how  much 
more  intense  should  that  desire  be  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Venus  (if  they  exist),  when  they  behold  this 
great,  round  earth  magnificently  pouring  her  beams 
upon  their  heads !  When  we  gaze  with  admiration  at 
Venus  in  her  glory,  it  is  a  captivating  thought  that 
to  her  we  present  a  spectacle  far  more  glorious  still. 
It  is  true  that  the  intensity  of  the  sunlight  received 
on  the  earth  is  only  half  as  great  as  on  Venus,  but 
that  hardly  affects  the  comparison.  Consider  how 
brilliant  Mars  appears  in  opposition,  although  he  re- 
ceives only  about  half  as  much  solar  light  as  comes 
to  the  earth. 

There  is  one  other  circumstance  affecting  the  con- 
dition of  Venus  considered  as  a  habitable  globe  which 
should  not  go  unnoticed.  Many  observations  seem 
to  prove  that  her  axis  is  remarkably  upright,  nearly 
perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic.  If  this  is 
true,  she  cannot  have  the  marked  succession  of  sea- 
sons, with  winter  and  summer  chasing  each  other  to 
and  fro  across  the  equator,  from  one  hemisphere  into 
the  other,  that  occurs  on  the  earth,  but  her  climates 
must  rather  be  arranged  in  zones — always  summer  in 
the  equatorial  and  tropical  belt,  a  changeless  spring 
temperature  in  higher  latitudes,  and  unbroken  winter 
in  the  polar  regions. 

Mars 

The  immense  literature  that  has  grown  up  about 
the  planet  Mars  within  the  past  ten  years,  and  the 
209 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

acerbity  of  some  of  the  disputes  concerning  it,  demon- 
strate the  hold  that  the  question  of  the  habitability 
of  other  worlds  possesses  not  only  upon  the  popular 
imagination,  but  upon  the  minds  of  many  who  are 
engaged  in  scientific  study  of  the  celestial  bodies. 
But  long  before  it  became  possible  to  discuss  this 
question  on  any  other  basis  than  that  of  pure  hy- 
pothesis, Mars  had  attracted  universal  attention. 
Never  so  bright  as  Venus  or  Jupiter,  his  startling 
color,  his  frequent  returns  to  a  prominent  position  in 
the  sky,  and  his  enormous  changes  of  brightness  have 
always  excited  a  great  deal  of  interest.  When  he 
beams  like  a  red  signal-lantern  in  the  midnight  heav- 
ens, Mars  fixes  the  eye  like  no  other  celestial  object. 
There  is  a  kind  of  insistent  assertiveness  about  his 
appearance  which  piques  curiosity,  and  at  the  same 
time  defies  it. 

In  ancient  times  Mars  received  everywhere  names 
based  upon  his  ruddy  aspect.  The  Chinese  called 
him,  plainly,  the  Red  Planet;  the  Hindoos,  the 
Ember;  the  Hebrews,  the  Burning  One;  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  Red  Horus;  the  Greeks,  the  Fiery.  He 
was  also  invariably  associated  with  the  god  of  war, 
whatever  the  particular  name  of  that  deity  might  be. 
The  name  which  has  clung  to  the  planet  is  that  of  the 
Greek  Ares,  transformed  into  the  Roman  Mars.  There 
is  a  somewhat  uncertain  Chinese  record  of  an  observa- 
tion of  Mars  made  about  2441  B.C.  With  the  astrolo- 
gers Mars  has  always  been  a  malign  planet,  the  "  lesser 
infortune,"  author  of  quarrels  and  strife.  When  well 
dignified,  says  old  Lilly,  he  makes  those  born  under 
him  invincible  in  feats  of  war  and  courage,  lovers  of 


THE    PLANETS 

honor,  boastful  yet  prudent,  and,  when  ill  dignified,  he 
turns  them  into  murderers,  thieves,  prattlers,  traitors, 
and  oppressors.  Besides  soldiers,  Mars  denotes  sur- 
geons, physicians,  chemists,  thieves,  hangmen,  smiths, 
bakers,  barbers,  cooks,  carpenters,  tanners.  The  red 
stars,  such  as  Antares,  were  supposed  to  partake  of 
the  nature  of  Mars,  and  Lilly's  famous  prediction  of 
the  great  fire  in  London  in  1666  was  based  on  the 
ascendency  of  one  of  these  Mars-like  stars  in  the 
horoscope  of  the  city.  He  was  summoned  before  the 
House  of  Commons  to  explain  his  prophetic  powers, 
but  he  left  his  hearers  as  ignorant  as  he  found  them. 

Mars  stands  for  the  third  day  of  the  week,  Martis 
dies;  in  French,  Mardi. 

Mars  is  the  first  planet  outside  the  earth,  his  mean 
distance  from  the  sun  being  141,500,000  miles.  The 
relative  distance  of  Mars  from  the  earth  varies  more 
^han  that  of  any  other  planet.  When  he  is  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  sun,  this  distance  amounts,  on  the 
average,  to  234,000,000  miles,  and  when  he  is  in  op- 
position to  the  sun  it  diminishes  to  only  47,000,000 
miles.  But  his  orbit  being  eccentric,  he  may  some- 
times be  as  far  away  as  267,000,000  miles,  and  as 
near  as  35,500,000  miles.  The  effect  upon  his  ap- 
parent brightness  is,  of  course,  very  great.  His  or- 
bital period,  or  the  length  of  his  year,  is  687  days. 
The  oppositions  of  Mars  to  the  sun,  which  afford  the 
best  opportunities  for  the  study  of  his  surface,  occur 
once  every  780  days.  Those  oppositions  which  hap- 
pen near  the  end  of  August  or  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember are  the  most  favorable,  because,  as  they 
occur  in-  that  quarter  of  the  sky  where  Mars's  peri- 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

helion  point  is  situated,  the  distance  between  him 
and  the  earth  is  reduced  to  the  least  possible  amount. 
The  opposition  of  1909  will  be  one  of  this  kind. 

In  size  Mars  ranks  between  Mercury  and  the  earth. 
His  diameter  is  4200  miles,  and  his  surface  area  about 
28  per  cent,  of  the  earth's.  Gravity  on  his  surface 
is  38  per  cent,  of  terrestrial  gravity.  A  body  weighing 
100  pounds  on  the  earth  would  weigh  but  38  pounds 
if  transported  to  Mars.  Very  important  suppositional 
consequences  have  been  drawn  from  this,  as  we  shall 
see  later. 

The  first  thing  that  seized  the  attention  of  tele- 
scopic observers  of  Mars  was  his  white  polar  caps. 
These  both  look  and  behave  exactly  as  we  should  ex- 
pect caps  of  snow  and  ice  to  do.  The  seasons  of  Mars 
are  very  like  those  of  the  earth,  except  that  each  is 
nearly  twice  as  long  as  ours,  and,  just  as  with  our 
globe,  the  sun  shines  in  succession  upon  the  two  poles. 
The  inclination  of  Mars's  axis  is  24°  50',  only  a  trifle 
greater  than  that  of  the  earth's  axis.  Thus  the  effect 
of  the  sun  rising  upon  his  poles  must,  other  things 
being  equal,  closely  resemble  its  effect  in  the  case  of 
the  earth.  Moreover,  Mars's  rotation  period  is  won- 
derfully close  to  ours,  his  day  and  night  together 
covering  twenty-four  hours  and  thirty-seven  minutes. 
Consequently,  we  should  expect  the  general  effect  of 
the  alternation  of  sunshine  and  darkness  on  Mars  to 
resemble  that  upon  the  earth.  His  atmosphere,  how- 
ever, is  very  deficient,  and  this  undoubtedly  has  im- 
portant results  in  the  distribution  and  retention  of 
solar  heat.  In  fact,  the  atmosphere  of  Mars  does  not 
appear  to  be  more  dense  than  that  found  on  the  sum- 

212 


THE    PLANETS 

mits  of  our  loftiest  mountain-peaks,  and  the  spectro- 
scopic  evidence  touching  the  presence  of  watery  va- 
por is  unsatisfactory.  It  has  been  suggested  that  a 
slight  excess  of  carbonic  acid  in  Mars's  atmosphere 
would  serve  to  keep  the  planet's  temperature  suffi- 
ciently high  to  enable  both  plant  and  animal  life  to 
flourish  on  his  surface. 

However  this  may  be,  the  behavior  of  the  polar 
caps  seems  to  indicate  that  they  are  composed  of 
snow  and  ice  alternately  frozen  and  dissolved.  They 
regularly  and  slowly  diminish  in  extent  as  summer 
advances,  and  sometimes  one  and  then  the  other 
nearly  disappears,  as  if  the  whole  winter  deposit  had 
been  melted  away. 

Synchronously  with  this  disappearance  of  the  polar 
caps,  the  famous  "canals,"  first  clearly  observed  by 
Schiaparelli  in  1879,  make  their  appearance.  These 
objects  are  far  beyond  the  reach  of  ordinary  telescopes, 
but  they  have  been  studied  and  drawn  by  a  number 
of  observers,  notably  Schiaparelli  and  Lowell,  and 
hundreds  of  them  have  been  mapped.  They  cover 
the  whole  face  of  the  planet,  a  few  of  them  even 
traversing  the  polar  regions.  They  are  perfectly 
straight,  and  they  meet  and  cross  in  scores  of  places, 
sometimes  as  many  as  a  dozen  coming  together  at 
one  point,  and  almost  invariably  where  two  or  more 
of  these  dusky  lines  cross  a  sort  of  knot  is  seen,  like 
the  knots  in  a  spider's  web. 

The  general  telescopic  aspect  of  Mars  is  that  of  a 
spotty  globe,  the  surface  being  divided  between  light 
and  dark  regions,  the  former  of  a  reddish  or  ochrish 
tint,  and  the  latter  having  a  dusky  green  or  blue 
213 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

tinge.  These  were  formerly  called,  respectively,  con- 
tinents and  oceans,  but  at  present  it  is  believed  that 
no  large  bodies  of  water  can  exist  on  Mars.  The 
"canals"  traverse  these  variously  colored  regions  with 
indifference,  although  they  are  much  more  numerous 
in  the  light,  or  reddish,  areas.  There  is  one  spot, 
sometimes  called  the  "Eye  of  Mars,"  which  bears  no 
little  resemblance  to  the  hub  of  a  wheel,  conspicuous 
"canals"  radiating  from  it,  with  striking  regularity, 
on  all  sides. 

The  prevailing  theory  in  regard  to  these  objects 
(it  is  only  a  theory,  and  is  not  "scientifically"  ac- 
cepted by  astronomers  in  general)  is  that  of  Mr. 
Percival  Lowell,  who  thinks  that  they  are  probably 
irrigated  lands  watered  by  innumerable  canals  made 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Mars,  who,  owing  to  the  de- 
siccated state  of  their  planet,  are  compelled  to  de- 
pend for  a  supply  of  water  sufficient  to  keep  vege- 
tation alive  upon  the  annual  liquidation  of  the  polar 
snows.  The  fact  that  the  "canals"  begin  to  appear 
soon  after  the  polar  caps  begin  to  diminish,  and 
grow  darker  as  the  caps  become  smaller,  is  perhaps 
the  strongest  general  argument  in  favor  of  the  view 
that  the  "canals"  indicate  the  existence  of  water 
which  is  alternately  withdrawn  and  re-supplied.  The 
visibility  of  the  canals  is  ascribed  not  to  the  water 
but  to  the  vegetation  whose  growth  it  stimulates. 

If  it  were  granted  that  this  gigantic  irrigation  sys- 
tem really  exists  on  Mars,  the  most  insistent  question 
would  be:  How  can  any  imaginable  race  of  beings 
have  performed  such  a  labor?  The  reply  that  hasj 
been  suggested  is  based  upon  the  small  force  of 
214 


THE    PLANETS 

gravity  on  Mars.  We  have  already  seen  that  this 
force  is  only  38  per  cent,  of  terrestrial  gravity.  This 
may  work  to  advantage  in  two  ways.  In  the  first 
place,  animal  forms  might  attain  a  far  greater  size 
upon  Mars  than  upon  the  earth,  with  coincidently 
greater  muscular  strength,  without  being  oppressed 
by  their  own  weight.  In  the  second  place,  since 
all  bodies  are  relatively  light  on  Mars,  mechanical 
powers  could  be  much  more  efficiently  applied  there 
than  here.  Thus  a  race  of  powerful  giants  on  Mars 
might  be  able  to  achieve  public  works  hopelessly  be- 
yond the  range  of  man's  capacity  on  the  earth. 

That  the  theory  is  fascinating  no  one  will  deny, 
but  confessedly  it  lies  beyond  the  limits  of  positive 
demonstration,  and  some  astronomers  prefer  to  be- 
lieve that  the  "canals"  of  Mars  are  some  kind  of 
natural  phenomena  arising  from  the  effects  of  fracture 
in  the  crust  of  a  cooling  and  contracting  globe.  That 
they  are  not  illusions  or  deceptions  of  the  observer's 
eye  seems  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  opposition  of  Mars  in  1907  many  of  the  more 
conspicuous  "canals"  were  photographed,  at  least  in 
part,  by  Mr.  Lowell  and  his  assistants. 

Mars  possesses  two  minute  moons,  revolving  with 
great  rapidity  at  a  very  close  range,  but,  since  they 
lie  beyond  the  reach  even  of  the  majority  of  telescopes, 
and  since  they  are  not  important  bodies  in  them- 
selves, they  need  not  long  detain  our  attention.  They 
were  first  detected  by  Professor  Asaph  Hall  in  1877, 
and  they  were  named  Deimos  and  Phobos,  or  Flight 
and  Fear,  which  is  a  return  to  mythology,  Flight  and 
Fear  having  been  the  horses  that  drew  the  chariot  of 
215 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  war  god  of  Olympus.  Deimos  revolves  around 
Mars  at  a  distance  of  15,000  miles  in  30  hours  10 
minutes,  and  Phobos  at  a  distance  of  6000  miles  in 
7  hours  39  minutes.  These  distances  are  from  the 
centre v of  the  planet.  Neither  of  these  toy  satellites 
probably  exceeds  ten  miles  in  diameter. 

Jupiter 

The  ancients  reasoned  well  when  they  gave  the 
name  of  the  chief  of  the  gods  to  the  planet  Jupiter. 
Although  Venus,  when  at  her  brightest,  far  outshines 
Jupiter,  yet  there  is  no  planet  which  can  rival  him 
in  the  unfailing  stateliness  of  his  appearance.  His 
slow,  majestic  movement  along  the  zodiac  (he  requires 
twelve  years  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  sky)  adds  to 
his  impressiveness.  He  is  by  far  the  largest  of  all 
the  planets,  although  those  who  named  him  were 
unaware  of  that  fact.  Observations  of  Jupiter  are, 
found  in  Chinese  records  several  thousand  years  be- 
fore our  era.  The  Chinese  called  him  the  Regulator, 
and  also  the  Planet  of  the  Year.  Flammarion  has 
suggested  that  the  latter  name  may  have  been  derived 
either  from  the  fact  that  he  takes  twelve  years  for  a 
revolution,  equal  to  the  number  of  the  months,  or^ 
from  the  fact  that  he  is  conspicuously  visible  for  a 
large  part  of  every  year.  The  Egyptians  knew  him 
as  Horus,  the  Guider  of  the  Sphere.  The  Hindoos 
and  the  Greeks  both  regarded  Jupiter  as  the  chief  of 
the  planets.  Astrologically  Jupiter  was  the  "  Greater 
Fortune."  When  well  aspected,  says  Lilly,  he  is 
magnanimous,  faithful,  bashful,  aspiring  in  an  hon- 
216 


THE    PLANETS 

orable  way  at  high  matters,  a  lover  ot  fair  dealing, 
doing  glorious  actions,  honorable  and  religious,  won- 
derfully indulgent  to  wife  and  children,  full  of  char- 
ity and  godliness,  just,  wise,  prudent,  and  virtuous. 
But  when  Jupiter  is  afflicted  by  malign  planets,  says 
the  astrologer,  he  wastes  his  patrimony,  is  hypocriti- 
cally religious,  obstinate,  ignorant,  careless,  gross,  dull, 
abasing  himself.  We  need  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  he  signifies  judges,  senators,  councillors,  bish- 
ops, priests,  cardinals,  chancellors — but  why  woollen- 
drapers  ? 

The  fifth  day  of  the  week  takes  its  name  from 
Jupiter,  Jovis  dies ;  in  French,  Jeudi. 

Jupiter's  average  distance  from  the  sun  is  483,000,- 
ooo  miles,  more  than  five  times  the  distance  of  the 
earth.  This  is  variable  to  the  extent  of  21,000,000 
miles.  From  the  earth  his  distance  varies  between 
369,000,000  and  576,000,000  miles.  On  the  average, 
says  Professor  Young,  he  is  about  five  times  as  bright 
as  Sirius.  His  oppositions  to  the  sun  occur  once  in 
every  399  days.  His  colossal  globe  is  88,000  miles 
in  diameter,  measured  through  the  equator,  and 
83,000  miles  measured  through  the  poles,  so  that  the 
polar  flattening  is  very  evident  in  telescopic  views. 
This  has  no  doubt  originated  from  his  swift  rotation 
on  his  axis,  a  single  turn  requiring  five  minutes  less 
than  ten  hours.  Day  and  night,  accordingly,  flit 
over  his  surface  with  astonishing  speed,  and  in  a  few 
hours,  watching  with  a  telescope,  the  effect  of  his  ro- 
tation becomes  very  evident. 

His  four  principal  moons  (three  very  minute  ones 
have  been  discovered  since  1892)  add  immensely  to 

JS  217 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

the  interest  of  Jupiter.  It  has  been  alleged  that  these 
moons  can  sometimes  be  seen,  under  exceptional 
circumstances,  and  by  eyes  of  extraordinary  power, 
without  optical  aid.  The  discovery  of  these  moons 
by  Galileo,  in  1610,  made  a  great  sensation.  These 
were  Galileo's  "Medicean  stars,"  named  in  honor  of 
the  brothers  Cosimo,  Francesco,  Carlo,  and  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici.  Mr.  Fahie,  in  his  Life  of  Galileo,  gives  an 
amusing  instance  of  the  competition  which  immediate- 
ly arose  among  some  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe 
for  the  honor  of  having  their  names  put  in  the  sky 
by  the  great  discoverer.  Within  about  three  months 
after  his  discovery  of  the  Medicean  stars,  Galileo  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  French  court,  saying : 

In  case  you  discover  any  other  fine  star,  call  it  by  the  name 
of  the  Great  Star  of  France,  as  well  as  the  most  brilliant  of 
all  the  earth,  and,  if  it  seems  fit  to  you,  call  it  rather  by  his 
proper  name,  Henri,  than  by  the  family  name  Bourbon. 
Thus  you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  a  thing  due  and 
proper  in  itself,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  rendering  yourself 
and  your  family  rich  and  powerful  forever. 

It  was  the  great  Henri  IV.  in  whose  behalf  this  ap- 
plication was  made ;  but  as  the  king  was  assassinated 
two  months  later,  Galileo  had  no  opportunity  to  take 
the  bribe,  even  if  he  had  been  disposed  to  accept  it. 
Needy  astronomers  in  our  time  have  no  such  chances 
offered  to  them  of  becoming  wealthy  and  powerful,  the 
magnates  who  now  rule  the  world  being  less  ambitious 
to  shine  in  the  heavens. 

For  all  who  possess  telescopes  -the  satellites  of 
Jupiter  are  a  ceaseless  source  of  joy.  Their  move- 
218 


THE    PLANETS 

ments  are  so  rapid  that  in  the  course  of  a  single  even- 
ing they  can  be  watched  crossing  his  disk,  preceded 
or  followed  by  their  round  shadows,  as  distinct  as 
little  circles  of  ink,  and  can  be  seen  disappearing  in 
his  shadow  at  one  edge  and  reappearing  at  the  op- 
posite edge.  Their  shifting  configurations  with  each 
other  and  with  Jupiter  are  always  fascinating  to 
watch. 

Dr.  Thomas  Dick  gave  Jupiter  (in  imagination)  the 
enormous  allotment  of  6,967,520,000,000  inhabitants, 
verily  an  appalling  "yellow  peril"  if  a  "war  of  the 
worlds"  should  ever  arise;  but  Jupiter  is  certainly 
innocent  of  any  such  over-population,  and,  indeed, 
of  any  population  whatever.  All  careful  observations 
show  that  this  immense  globe  consists  principally,  if 
not  entirely,  of  vapor.  Its  surface  is  streaked,  paral- 
lel to  the  equator,  with  broad  cloud  zones,  which 
change  continually  in  color,  shape,  and  arrangement. 
It  is  a  most  picturesque  sight  with  a  telescope,  and 
when  looking  at  it  I  always  recall  the  vivid  descrip- 
tion of  the  appearance  of  Jupiter  in  Piazzi  Smyth's 
telescope,  which  he  carried  up  on  the  peak  of  Ten- 
eriffie  in  1856: 

One  could  not  gaze  long  without  acquiring  the  impression 
of  looking  at  a  windy  sky.  The  whole  zone  of  vapor  seemed 
to  be  in  motion,  while  from  its  ragged  edges  portions  were 
torn  off  and  were  driving  along,  some  of  them  rolling  over 
and  over,  and  others  pulled  out  in  length  and  rearing  up 
towards  the  forepart  like  a  sailing  boat  scudding  before  a 
gale.  Owing,  perhaps,  to  the  effects  of  perspective,  the  polar 
zones  appeared  quiet  and  level,  and  the  equatorial  band  was 
somewhat  more  calm,  more  inclined  to  strati  and  cirrostrati 
than  the 'tempestuous  cumulostrati  of  the  tropics. 
219 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED     EYE 

Piazzi  Smyth  was  unaware  of  what  we  now  know — 
that  Jupiter's  surface  has  many  different  rates  of  ro- 
tation, the  clouds  travelling  faster  near  the  equator 
than  towards  the  poles.  Moreover,  there  is  evidence, 
as  Professor  Hough  has  shown,  that  Jupiter  is  a  many- 
storied  world  of  clouds,  the  lower  strata  travelling  at 
a  different  rate  from  those  above;  and  at  times  the 
sight  seems  to  range  down  into  depths  that  may  meas- 
ure a  thousand  miles. 

About  the  only  feature  approaching  permanence 
of  form  on  Jupiter  is  the  famous  Red  Spot,  which  lies 
at  about  thirty-five  degrees  south  latitude,  and  which 
has  been  visible  with  varying  distinctness  since  1878. 
In  that  year  I  had  the  good-fortune  to  catch  sight  of 
it,  almost  at  the  earliest-known  date  of  apparition, 
with  a  three-inch  telescope,  the  first  that  I  ever  owned. 
At  times  this  spot  assumes  a  deep-red  color ;  at  other 
times  it  fades  away  as  if  covered  by  a  veil;  but  al- 
ways its  location  is  indicated  by  a  deep  scallop  lying 
exactly  alongside  of  it  in  the  great  south  equatorial 
cloud  belt.  The  spot  measures  not  less  than  30,000 
miles  in  length,  by  7000  in  its  greatest  breadth.  It 
is  oval  in  outline.  The  cause  and  nature  of  this  won- 
derful spot  have  been  much  discussed,  but  the  mys- 
tery remains  unsolved. 

Additional  evidence  of  the  unsolidified  state  of 
Jupiter  is  furnished  by  his  low  mean  density.  This 
is  only  about  one-quarter  of  the  earth's  density,  or, 
say,  one-third  greater  than  the  density  of  water.  It 
is  possible,  if  not  probable,  that  there  may  be  a  solid 
nucleus,  but  if  so  it  must  be  intensely  heated  and  in- 
candescent. Owing  to  his  enormous  collective  mass, 


THE    PLANETS 

the  force  of  gravity  on  the  visible  surface  of  Jupiter  is 
2.64  times  as  great  as  on  the  earth.  He  exceeds  the 
earth  1300  times  in  volume  and  316  times  in  mass, 
or  weight.  About  a  thousand  bodies  of  the  size  of 
Jupiter  would  make  a  globe  equal  to  the  sun.  The 
probability  is  that  Jupiter  only  recently,  as  time  is 
measured  in  such  things,  passed  out  of  the  condition 
of  a  star,  or  a  subsidiary  sun,  shining  with  its  own 
radiance,  and  began  to  enter  upon  the  earlier  stages 
of  planetary  condensation.  When  he  shone  with  his 
own  light  he  appeared  from  outer  space  as  a  little 
companion  of  the  sun,  the  two  forming  a  binary  star 
whose  components  differed  eight  or  nine  magnitudes 
in  brightness. 

Saturn 

The  most  distant  of  the  planets  known  to  the  an- 
cients received  from  the  Greeks  the  name  Chronos, 
equivalent  to  the  Latin  Saturn.  As  the  name  indi- 
cates, it  was  associated  with  the  idea  of  time,  or  du- 
ration, and  no  doubt  the  application  to  the  planet 
Saturn  arose  from  that  planet's  exceedingly  slow 
movements.  It  requires  nearly  thirty  years  to  make  a 
single  circuit  of  the  heavens.  Names  having  a  similar 
meaning  were  bestowed  upon  the  planet  by  other  early 
peoples.  Saturn's  aspect  accords  with  the  deliberate- 
ness  of  his  movements,  and  recalls  Keats's  picture  of 
the  dethroned  father  of  the  gods  in  his  hidden  retreat: 

Deep  in  the  shady  sadness  of  a  vale, 
Far  sunken  from  the  healthy  breath  of  morn, 
Far  from  the  fiery  noon  and  eve's  one  star, 
Sat  gray-haired  Saturn,  quiet  as  a  stone, 
Still  as  the  silence  round  about  his  lair. 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

The  seventh  day  of  the  week  takes  its  name  from 
Saturn,  Saturni  dies ;  in  French,  Satnedi. 

The  astrologers  found  reasons  satisfactory  to  them 
for  making  Saturn  the  exact  opposite  of  Jupiter,  call- 
ing him  the  "Greater  Infortune,"  while  Jupiter  was 
the  "Greater  Fortune."  Malefic  though  he  be,  ac- 
cording to  their  system,  nevertheless  they  ascribed 
many  admirable  qualities  to  Saturn,  which  he  was 
capable  of  imparting  to  those  born  under  his  rule 
when  he  was  "well  dignified."  "He  is  profound  in 
imagination,"  says  Lilly,  "in  his  acts  severe,  in  words 
reserved,  in  speaking  and  giving  very  spare,  in  labor 
patient,  in  arguing  or  disputing  grave,  in  obtaining 
the  goods  of  this  life  studious  and  solicitous,  in  all 
manner  of  actions  austere."  This  is  a  very  good  de- 
scription of  what  is  popularly  known  as  a  saturnine 
disposition.  But  when  Saturn  is  plagued  with  evil 
influences,  then  the  astrologers  give  him  a  very  bad 
character.  He  is  "envious,  covetous,  jealous,  mis- 
trustful, timorous,  sordid,  dissembling,  sluggish,  stub- 
born, a  contemner  of  women  and  a  liar,  never  con- 
tented and  ever  repining."  Some  of  these,  too,  are 
good  definitions  of  what  we  call  a  saturnine  person, 
and  the  adoption  of  the  word  in  common  use  shows 
how  deeply  the  astrological  superstition  sank  into 
people's  minds  in  former  centuries. 

Saturn's  mean  distance  from  the  sun  is  886,000,000 
miles.  His  period  of  revolution,  or  the  length  of  his 
year,  is  twenty-nine  and  one-half  years,  consequently 
he  remains  visible  in  the  same  quarter  of  the  sky  for 
several  years  in  succession.  He  comes  into  opposition 
to  the  sun  once  in  every  378  days.  From  the  earth 


THE    PLANETS 

Saturn's  distance  varies  between  1,028,000,000  and 
744,000,000  miles. 

The  globe  of  Saturn  measures  75,000  miles  through 
the  equator  and  68,000  miles  through  the  poles.  The 
difference  is  equal  to  the  entire  diameter  of  the  earth. 
His  volume  is  760  times  that  of  the  earth,  but  his  den- 
sity is  so  slight  that  he  equals  only  95  earths  in  weight. 
Saturn  would  float  if  there  were  an  ocean  big  enough 
to  hold  him,  his  mean  density  being  only  five-sevenths 
that  of  water.  His  axial  rotation  period  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  Jupiter — 10  hours  14  minutes. 

The  great  marvel  of  Saturn  is  his  rings,  of  which 
Professor  Young  has  said  that  they  are  "  unlike  any- 
thing else  in  the  universe,"  and  are  "the  most  beau- 
tiful and  most  interesting  of  all  telescopic  objects." 
Besides  these  rings,  which  are  suspended  directly  over 
his  equator,  and  are  divided  by  two  gaps,  Saturn  has 
ten  moons,  two  of  which  are  very  minute  objects,  only 
recently  discovered.  The  outer  diameter  of  the  ring 
system  is  no  less  than  168,000  miles,  and  yet  the 
rings  probably  do  not  exceed  100  miles  in  thickness. 
It  has  been  established,  both  by  mathematical  rea- 
soning and  by  spectroscopic  evidence,  that  they  con- 
sist of  an  almost  infinite  number  of  small  bodies, 
like  flights  of  meteors,  revolving  around  Saturn  in  a 
common  plane.  Their  telescopic  appearance  changes 
according  to  the  inclination  of  their  plane  towards 
the  earth.  When  the  inclination  is  greatest,  the  rings 
appear  in  an  oval  form,  extending  a  little  beyond  the 
poles  of  the  planet ;  when  they  are  edgewise  towards 
the  earth,  they  practically  disappear,  all  that  is  left 
in  sight  with  telescopes  being  a  delicate  straight  line 
223 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

of  light  which  resembles  a  pair  of  illuminated  needles 
stuck  into  the  ball  of  the  planet  on  opposite  sides. 
They  thus  disappear  once  in  about  every  fifteen  years. 
The  latest  disappearance  occurred  in  1907.  About 
1915  they  will  be  opened  again  to  their  widest  extent. 

Galileo  discovered  the  existence  of  the  rings  of 
Saturn  in  1610.  As  in  the  case  of  his  discovery  of  the 
phases  of  Venus,  he  concealed  the  fact  for  a  time  in 
an  anagram  sent  to  Kepler.  In  1612  they  got  so  near 
edgewise  that  he  could  no  longer  see  them,  and  his 
amazement  for  a  time  was  extreme,  while  his  enemies 
laughed  at  him  and  gloried  in  his  disappointment 
and  what  they  regarded  as  deception.  In  1616  he 
caught  sight  of  them  again,  but,  becoming  blind  in 
his  later  years,  he  never  recognized  them  in  their  true 
form,  always  supposing  that  they  were  subsidiary 
bodies  attending  Saturn,  or  projections  extending  out 
on  each  side  of  the  globe.  It  was  not  until  1656  that 
Huygens  finally  saw  the  rings  in  their  true  form.  It 
is  a  curious  fact,  to  which  Proctor  was  the  first  to  call 
general  attention,  that  among  the  discoveries  of  Lay- 
ard  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  was  a  figure  of  the  god 
Nisroch  (identical  with  Saturn)  enveloped  with  a  ring. 
Mr.  Proctor  thought  that  here  might  be  an  indication 
that  the  ancient  Chaldean  astronomers  had  telescopes, 
but  no  confirmation  of  this  has  been  obtained. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  habitability  of  Jupiter 
applies  equally  to  Saturn.  His  globe,  as  we  have  seen, 
possesses  a  density  much  less,  even,  than  that  of  Jupi- 
ter, so  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  suppose  that  it  has 
a  solid  nucleus  at  the  centre.  If  so  it  must  be  re- 
latively very  small.  At  the  distance  of  Saturn,  too, 
224 


THE    PLANETS 

the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun  are  reduced  to  about 
one-ninetieth  of  their  intensity  at  the  earth,  so  that  if 
this  planet  should  ever  become  a  solid  globe  its  surface 
temperature  would  be  so  extremely  low  that  no  living 
forms  with  which  we  are  acquainted  could  exist  there. 


XVIII 

THE    MOON 

Queen  and  huntress  chaste  and  fair, 

Now  the  sun  is  laid  to  sleep, 
Seated  in  thy  silver  chair 

State  in  wonted  manner  keep. 
Hesperus  entreats  thy  light 
Goddess  excellently  bright. 

— Ben  Jonson. 

'"PHE  imagination  of  mankind  has  never  resisted 
1  the  fascination  of  the  moon.  Under  her  magic 
spell  the  whole  world  is  transformed,  and  every  mind 
becomes  poetical  in  its  degree.  Watch  the  effect 
upon  a  great  ship's  company  when  the  full  moon 
shines  over  the  sea.  It  may  be  "  the  captain's  night," 
with  a  brilliant  ball  on  the  promenade  deck,  but 
neither  the  dancing  nor  the  small  talk  nor  the  music 
can  overmatch  the  attraction  of  the  moon,  and  couples 
will  be  observed  withdrawing  from  the  revelry  and 
seeking  open  places  on  the  deck  where  they  can  watch 
the  wondrous  sight  of  Diana  on  her  throne. 

Without  the  presence  of  the  moon  the  Grand  Canal 
of  Venice  fails  in  its  sorcery.  The  Parisians  eagerly 
await  the  nights  of  the  clair  de  lime  to  assemble  along 
the  banks  of  the  Seine  and  enjoy  the  spectacle  of 
their  beautiful  and  historic  river  stretching  its  shin- 
226 


Chart  XIV 


Sea  Of 
Humors. 


ry 


cho 


THE    MOON    AS    SEEN    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE. 


THE    MOON 

ing  reaches  between  the  bridges,  while  the  towers  of 
Notre  Dame  stand  bewitched  in  the  moonlight.  Lon- 
don's Victoria  Embankment  and  ugly  Thames  become 
fairy  scenes  when  the  rays  of  the  full  moon  touch 
them.  What  New-Yorker  who  has  ever  crossed  the 
Brooklyn  Bridge  at  midnight,  when  the  moon  was  sil- 
vering the  bay  and  turning  the  sails  of  distant  sloops 
into  ebon  wings  outspread  against  the  brightness,  can 
possibly  erase  the  picture  from  his  memory?  The 
force  of  the  incantation  is  always  and  everywhere 
the  same.  Who  can  number  the  songs  and  the  poems 
that  have  been  inspired  by  the  moonlight?  In  the 
depths  of  the  African  or  the  Amazonian  forests,  or 
the  wilds  of  Canada,  or  among  the  palm-ringed  Pacific 
islands,  or  amid  the  ice  and  snow  of  the  arctic  and  the 
antarctic  circles,  the  moon  is  the  same  enchantress. 

In  every  part  of  the  world  people  have  sat  in  the 
moonlight,  and  still  sit,  spinning  fancies  about  the 
curious  spots  on  that  bright,  round  face  in  the  sky. 
The  legend  of  the  Man  in  the  Moon  is  as  ancient  and 
as  multiform  in  its  variations  as  anything  in  the  his- 
tory of  human  thought.  In  China  the  Man  in  the 
Moon  is  believed  to  govern  marriages  and  to  tie  to- 
gether with  an  invisible  silken  cord  the  young  men 
and  maidens  whom  he  designs  to  unite  in  matrimony. 
"This,"  says  the  Reverend  Timothy  Harley,  comment- 
ing on  the  story  in  his  Moon  Lore,  "must  be  the  man 
of  the  honey-moon,  and  we  shall  not  meet  his  superior 
in  any  part  of  the  world."  In  Teutonic  legend  the 
Man  in  the  Moon,  carrying  a  bundle  of  sticks  on  his 
back,  represents  a  Sabbath-breaker  who  met  a  di- 
vine being  while  cutting  wood  on  the  sacred  day,  and 
227 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

when  remonstrated  with  laughed  and  said  that  Sun- 
day and  Monday  were  all  the  same  to  him.  "Then 
stand  in  the  moon  for  a  perpetual  Monday!"  (Moon- 
day)  was  the  sentence  instantly  pronounced.  Dante 
says  that  the  Man  in  the  Moon  is  Cain.  Some  of  our 
Indian  tribes  had  a  legend  that  the  Man  in  the  Moon 
was  a  hunter  with  his  dog,  banished  to  the  sky  for 
some  transgression;  and  a  British  Columbian  tribe, 
visited  by  Mr.  William  Duncan,  told  him  a  story  of  a 
child  that  cried  out  in  the  night  for  water,  but  was 
neglected  by  its  mother,  whereupon  the  Moon  sud- 
denly appeared  at  the  door  of  the  lodge  with  a  pot 
of  water  which  the  child  eagerly  seized.  Then  the 
Moon  carried  the  child  up  into  the  sky,  where  its  face 
can  still  be  seen.  The  New  Zealand  savages  said  that 
the  Man  in  the  Moon  was  one  who,  going  out  in  the 
night,  stumbled  and  sprained  his  ankle,  whereupon  he 
cried  for  help,  and  lamented  so  loudly  that  at  last 
the  Moon  came  down  and  took  hold  of  him.  In  his 
terror  he  seized  a  bush,  but  the  Moon  pulled  it  up  by 
the  roots  and  sailed  back  into  the  sky  with  both 
man  and  bush. 

The  Woman  in  the  Moon  has  also  been  a  favorite 
subject  of  myth-making.  In  truth,  it  would  seem 
that  the  profile  of  a  woman's  face  in  the  moon  is  more 
evident  than  any  masculine  eidolon  there.  It  can 
be  seen  at  any  time  between  first  quarter  and  full 
moon.  The  face,  which  is  bright,  is  turned  eastward. 
The  outlines  of  forehead,  nose,  mouth,  and  chin  are 
formed  by  the  "Sea  of  Showers"  and  the  "Sea  of 
Clouds";  the  eye  is  indicated  by  one  of  the  small, 
dark,  oval  plains  near  the  centre  of  the  disk,  while 
228 


THE    MOON 


the  "Seas"  of  "Serenity,"  "Tranquillity,"  "Fertili- 
ty," and  "Nectar"  constitute  the  hair  on  the  top 
and  back  of  the  head.  The  great  crater  ring  Tycho 
blazes  like  a  jewel  on  her  bosom.  The  Chinese  call 
the  Woman  in  the  Moon  the  Fairy  Queen,  and  imag- 
ine that  they  can  see  her  palace.  Even  the  Esqui- 
maux have  invented  a  legend  about  her,  although 
their  story  relates  rather  to  the  moon's  phases  than 
to  anything  visible  on  her  face.  They  say  that  the 
Sun  and  the  Moon  are  brother  and  sister,  and  that  the 
Sun,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  burned  one  side  of  his  sister's 
face  coal  black.  Then  she  ran  away,  and  the  Sun 
has  been  chasing  her  ever  since.  When  the  burned 
side  of  her  face  is  towards  us,  she  disappears.  Pro- 
fessor Charles  Frederick  Hartt,  the  geologist,  found 
a  variant  of  this  legend  among  the  tribes  along  the 
Amazon.  The  Samoan  savages  say  that  the  Moon 
came  down  one  evening  and  stole  a  woman  named 
Sina  while  she  was  at  work  in  the  twilight.  Sina  has 
never  been  able  to  get  back  again,  but  she  still  has 
her  mallet  and  the  board  on  which  she  was  beating 
out  bark  to  make  cloth.  The  most  charming  of  all 
the  moon  legends  is  that  of  the  Greeks,  who  called 
the  moon  Selene,  and  said  that  she  fell  in  love  with 
the  beautiful  youth  Endymion  as  he  lay  asleep  on  a 
mountain  in  Elis. 

Peace  ho!   the  moon  sleeps  with  Endymion, 
And  would  not  be  awaked. 

— MercJiant  of  Venice. 

Mr.  Harley  calls  attention   to   the  fact  that  in 
English,  French,  Italian,  Latin,  and  Greek  the  moon 
229 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

is  feminine,  but  in  the  Teutonic  languages  mascu- 
line. 

Equally  famous  with  the  Man  in  the  Moon  and  the 
Woman  in  the  Moon  is  the  Hare  in  the  Moon.  The 
original  of  this  is  a  Buddhist  legend.  The  god  Sak- 
kria,  disguised  as  a  Brahman,  pretended  to  be  starving 
and  went  to  the  animals  for  help.  The  monkey  got 
him  a  bunch  of  mangoes ;  the  coot  picked  up  a  fisher- 
man's neglected  string  for  him;  the  fox  stole  him  a 
pot  of  milk.  At  last  the  god  approached  the  hare. 
"I  have  nothing  but  grass,"  said  the  hare,  "and  you 
can't  eat  that."  "But  your  flesh  is  good,"  suggest- 
ed the  pretended  Brahman.  The  hare  assented. 
"  Then,"  said  the  Brahman,  "I'll  kindle  a  fire  at  the 
foot  of  this  rock  and  you  jump  off  into  it.  That  '11 
save  me  the  trouble  of  killing  you."  The  hare  as- 
sented again,  but  as  he  leaped  from  the  rock  the  god 
caught  him  in  his  arms,  and  then  drew  his  figure  in 
the  Moon  as  a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  excellence 
of  self-sacrifice. 

The  worship  of  the  moon  extends  to  the  most  an- 
cient dates  of  history.  In  Chaldea  the  principal  cen- 
tre of  moon-worship  was  Ur,  in  the  land  of  Abraham. 
The  Israelites,  in  their  pagan  age,  adored  the  moon 
under  the  Assyrian  name  of  Astarte  or  Ashtaroth. 
Some  have  asserted  that  Mount -Sinai  was  originally 
consecrated  to  the  moon.  The  moon  was  the  great- 
est divinity  of  the  Arabs.  She  was  one  of  the  gods 
of  the  Persians.  The  moon  played  a  great  part  in 
the  religion  of  India,  arid  in  China  moon-worship  still 
exists.  In  ancient  Egypt  she  was  Isis,  the  sun  being 
Osiris.  The  Greeks  first  worshipped  her  under  the 
230 


THE    MOON  * 

names  of  Selene  and  Phoebe,  the  name  Artemis 
(Diana),  as  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  thinks,  being  of  later  date. 
Diana  and  Luna  were  the  Roman  names  for  the 
moon-goddess.  The  moon  played  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  rites  of  the  Druids,  and  there  are  traces  of  an- 
cient moon-worship  in  popular  customs  still  surviv- 
ing in  the  British  Isles,  as  well  as  in  many  parts  of 
Europe.  Among  the  American  Indians  moon-worship 
was  widely  spread.  By  the  Aztecs  she  was  deified 
under  the  name  Meztli,  and  they  had  a  Pyramid  of 
the  Moon,  as  well  as  one  of  the  sun.  In  the  Temple 
of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco  was  a  chapel  consecrated  to  the 
moon,  the  deity  held  next  in  reverence  to  the  sun 
and  regarded  as  the  mother  of  the  Incas,  the  moon 
being  both  the  sister  and  the  wife  of  the  sun. 

In  astrology  the  moon,  of  course,  makes  a  great 
figure,  and  as  she  passes  so  rapidly  through  the  signs 
of  the  zodiac  her  influence  upon  the  planets  is  de- 
scribed as  very  variable.  When  "well  affected"  she 
bestows  good  qualities,  according  to  Lilly,  but  even 
at  the  best  a  "moon  person"  is  apt  to  be  unsteady 
and  inclined  to  flit  about.  When  she  is  "  ill  affected  " 
the  moon  makes  bad  characters.  As  Venus  is  said  to 
bestow  dimples,  so  the  moon,  it  is  averred,  usually 
makes  "one  eye  a  little  larger  than  the  other"  in  her 
•subjects. 

f  The  strange  spots  on  the  moon,  that  have  given 
rise  to  so  many  legends,  first  had  their  true  character 
revealed  when  Galileo,  in  1610,  aimed  his  telescope 
at  her.  They  turned  out  to  be  mountains,  hills,  and 
plains.  "  It  is  just  like  the  earth,"  he  declared.  But 
the  assertion,  often  made,  that  Galileo  believed  the 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

moon  to  be  inhabited  is  erroneous.  In  a  letter 
written  in  1616,  and  quoted  by  Mr.  Fahie  in  his  Life, 
Galileo  distinctly  states  his  belief  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  the  moon  to  be  inhabited,  and  he  gives  sub- 
stantially the  same  reasons  that  would  be  given  to- 
day— viz.,  the  absence  of  water  and  the  lack  of  rapid 
succession  of  day  and  night  on  her  surface.  The  sun- 
light takes  two  weeks  to  creep  over  the  face  of  the 
moon,  and  day  and  night  there  are  each  a  fortnight 
in  length.  Moreover,  as  we  now  know,  there  is  virtu- 
ally no  air  on  the  moon.  Yet  the  moon  is  "of  the 
earth,  earthy."  ^When  Addison  wrote: 

Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, 
And  nightly  to  the  listening  earth 
Proclaims  the  story  of  her  birth, 

he  did  not  in  the  least  suspect  what  the  story  was 
that  the  moon  so  insistently  repeated./  It  was  left 
for  Professor  George  Darwin  and  mathematical  phys- 
ics to  unfold  that  story,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  in  the  whole  domain  of  astronomy.  Put 
into  a  few  words,  this  story  avers  that  the  moon  is 
the  child  of  the  earth,  born  by  violence,  under  the 
stress  of  forces  generated  by  a  rapid  rotation  of  the 
original  single  viscid  mass,  combined  with  tidal  action 
emanating  from  the  sun.  In  the  constellation  Vul- 
pecula  there  is  a  nebula  which  shows  a  similar  process 
of  division  now  going  on.  Two  enormous  masses  are 
seen  in  apparent  swift  rotation,  while  their  whole 
substance  has  been  whirled  out  into  an  hour-glass 
or  dumb-bell  shape.  After  the  separation  was  once 
232 


THE    MOON 

effected,  the  moon  retired  from  the  earth  under  the 
effects  of  "tidal  friction,"  a  subject  too  technical  to 
be  discussed  here.  But  if  she  carried  air  and  water 
with  her  when  she  parted  from  her  mother  earth, 
what  has  become  of  them?  According  to  one  opin- 
ion, they  have  been  absorbed  into  her  rocks  as  she 
cooled  off.  The  relics  of  frightful  volcanic  activity 
on  the  moon  seem  conclusive  evidence  that  there 
was  once  water  and  fire  there.  According  to  another 
opinion,  the  slight  mass  of  the  moon  (one-eightieth 
that  of  the  earth)  prevented  her  from  permanently 
retaining  the  gaseous  and  volatile  elements.  What- 
ever the  cause,  the  fact  remains  that  no  bodies  of 
water,  and  no  atmosphere  resembling  ours,  exist  to- 
day on  the  moon.  Yet  her  great  plains  strikingly  re- 
semble the  beds  of  dried-up  oceans. 
*^Ks^&  telescopic  object  the  moon  takes  the  first 
rank.  The  slightest  magnification  begins  to  reveal 
the  marvellous  picturesqueness  of  her  broken  land- 
scapes, and  with  higher  powers  the  spectacles  that 
she  presents  are  indescribable  in  their  weird  magnifi- 
cence. Although  she  is  only  2100  miles  in  diameter, 
her  mountains,  and  particularly  her  "craters,"  are 
mightier  than  those  of  the  earth. 

Everybody  knows,  of  course,  why  the  moon  changes 
shape  as  she  travels  around  the  earth.  These  phases 
are  simply  due  to  the  change  in  the  extent  of  the  sun- 
illuminated  surface  visible  to  us.  When  she  is  be- 
tween the  sun  and  the  earth,  she  disappears;  when 
she  emerges  on  the  east  of  the  sun,  she  appears  as  a 
thin  crescent  in  the  western  sky,  only  a  narrow  rim 
of  the  illuminated  half  being  then  visible  to  us ;  when 

16  233 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

she  reaches  a  point  at  right  angles  to  the  direction 
of  the  sun,  half  of  the  illuminated  side  appears ;  when 
she  is  opposite  to  the  sun  she  assumes  the  full  phase, 
because  then  the  whole  of  her  illuminated  side  is  tow- 
ards the  earth.  As  she  goes  round  she  always  keeps 
the  same  side  towards  us,  so  that  we  know  nothing, 
except  by  inference,  of  the  other  side  of  the  moon. 
This  peculiarity  of  the  moon's  rotation  is  believed  to 
be  due  to  the  "braking  action  of  the  tides  raised  by 
the  attraction  of  the  earth  when  the  moon  was  yet 
in  a  viscid  state. 

The  moon  both  causes  and  suffers  eclipses.  When 
she  passes  exactly  between  the  earth  and  the  sun, 
the  latter  is  hidden  behind  her  opaque  globe,  and  we 
have  a  solar  eclipse — one  of  the  most  interesting  of 
all  astronomical  phenomena,  on  account  of  the  mar- 
vellous streamers  of  light,  called  the  corona,  which 
then  appear  surrounding  the  eclipsed  sun,  and  ex- 
tending away,  in  some  cases,  millions  of  miles.  When 
the  moon  passes  the  earth  on  the  side  opposite  to  the 
sun — in  other  words,  when  she  is  a  full  moon — she 
comes  at  certain  times  almost  exactly  in  line  with  the 
two,  and  then  she  enters  the  shadow  of  the  earth  and 
is  herself  eclipsed.  Eclipses  of  the  sun  are  very  rare 
phenomena  at  any  particular  place  on  the  earth, 
because  the  moon's  shadow  is  reduced  almost  to  a 
point  before  it  reaches  the  earth,  from  her  average 
distance  of  239,000  miles,  and  it  is  only  within  the 
shadow  that  the  sun  appears  eclipsed.  The  orbit  of 
the  moon  around  the  earth  is  continually  shifting  its 
place  a  little,  and  so  the  point  of  her  shadow  does 
not  reach  the  earth  at  the  same  place  in  successive 
234 


THE    MOON 

eclipses.  Eclipses  of  the  moon  are  more  frequently 
seen,  because  the  earth's  shadow,  being  much  larger 
than  the  moon's,  completely  buries  the  latter  when 
she  passes  into  it,  so  that  the  moon  can  then  be  seen 
eclipsed  from  all  places  on  the  earth  above  whose 
horizon  she  happens  to  be  at  the  moment. 

An  eclipse  of  the  moon  is  very  interesting  to  watch, 
because  of  the  curious  reddish  tint  which  the  face 
of  the  moon  usually  assumes  when  she  is  within  the 
earth's  shadow.  This  is  due  to  the  refraction  of  light 
by  our  atmosphere  around  the  edge  of  the  globe ;  and 
this  light,  being  bent  into  the  shadow,  reaches  the 
moon,  and  produces  a  partial  illumination  there.  It 
follows  that  if  we  could  be  upon  the  moon  during 
such  an  eclipse  we  should  see  the  huge  black  globe 
of  the  earth  completely  covering  the  sun  and  sur- 
rounded with  a  brilliant  ring  of  reddish  light.  At 
times  when  the  atmosphere  of  the  earth  is  choked 
with  clouds,  the  moon  almost  disappears  during  an 
eclipse,  because  then  the  refraction  is  prevented  by 
the  clouds. 

The  primary  reason  why  there  is  not  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun  at  every  new  moon,  and  an  eclipse  of  the  moon 
at  every  full  moon,  is  because  the  moon's  orbit  is  in- 
clined to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  and  ordinarily  she 
passes  above  or  below  the  sun  in  the  one  case,  and 
above  or  below  the  conical  shadow  of  the  earth  in  the 
other  case.  The  greatest  number  of  eclipses  that  can 
occur  in  a  year  is  seven,  five  of  the  sun  and  two  of 
the  moon ;  the  least  number  is  two,  both  of  the  sun. 
On  the  average  four  or  five  eclipses  occur  every  year, 
more  of  the  sun  than  of  the  moon,  but,  as  already 
235 


ASTRONOMY   WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

explained,  eclipses  of  the  sun  are  visible  from  only 
very  limited  areas  on  the  earth,  and  the  path  of  the 
shadow  seldom  falls  in  a  convenient  place  for  ob- 
servation. Some  solar  eclipses  are  annular  —  i.  e., 
they  occur  at  times  when  the  moon  is  in  the  more 
distant  part  of  her  orbit,  and  the  point  of  her  shadow 
falls  short  of  the  earth.  Then  a  bright  rim  of  the 
solar  disk  appears  surrounding  the  black  globe  of  the 
moon.  Total  eclipses  of  the  sun  appear  as  partial 
eclipses  to  those  who  are  situated  within  about  two 
thousand  miles  of  the  edge  of  the  moon's  shadow. 
So,  too,  the  moon  may  be  partially  eclipsed  by  pass- 
ing through  the  edge  of  the  earth's  shadow. 
^Eclipses  have  played  an  astonishing  part  in  history. 
The  total  obscuration  of  the  sun  in  broad  day  is  a 
phenomenon  especially  calculated  to  awaken  super- 
stitious terror,  and  accordingly  we  find  that  solar 
eclipses  have  generally  been  regarded  with  more  fear 
and  awe  than  lunar  ones.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that,  in  the  ages  when  the  movements  of  the  celestial 
bodies  were  not  understood,  the  course  of  the  history 
of  nations  was  sometimes  changed  by  the  passage  of 
the  moon  across  the  sun's  face.  Battles  were  stopped, 
the  march  of  armies  was  arrested,  treaties  were  dic- 
tated by  the  terror  inspired  by  an  unexpected  eclipse. 
Since  eclipses  are  phenomena  that  can  be  predicted 
with  almost  absolute  exactitude  centuries  in  advance, 
it  is  easy,  from  our  knowledge  of  the  moon's  motion, 
to  trace  her  course  backward  as  well  as  forward,  and 
thus  eclipses  occurring  thousands  of  years  ago,  and 
recorded  by  the  uncritical  analysts  of  those  times, 
have  enabled  modern  astronomers  to  fix  disputed 
236 


THE     MOON 

dates  in  history.  Herodotus  records  the  fact  that  a 
battle  between  the  Medes  and  Lydians  was  interrupted 
by  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  Calculation  shows  that  this 
eclipse  must  have  occurred  on  May  28th  in  the  year 
585  B.C. 

A  curious  point  in  the  history  of  the  celebrated 
Five  Nations,  occupying  central  New  York  at  the 
time  of  the  arrival  of  the  white  men,  is  connected  with 
an  eclipse.  These  Indians  had  a  tradition  that  a 
great  war  between  the  Mohawks  and  the  Senecas  was 
averted  by  the  interposition  of  Heaven.  Some  young 
Seneca  warriors,  bent  on  winning  fame  for  them- 
selves, went,  in  a  time  of  peace,  into  the  land  of  the 
Mohawks  and  made  captive  a  number  of  girls  who 
were  at  work  in  the  cornfields.  The  captives  were 
taken  to  Canandaigua.  Their  arrival  caused  con- 
sternation among  the  Senecas,  whose  chiefs  knew  well 
the  terrible  vengeance  that  the  Mohawks  would  exact. 
Still,  the  Senecas  also  were  a  proud  people,  and  when 
swift  runners  arrived  demanding  a  humiliating  sub- 
mission, the  Senecas  responded  with  open  defiance, 
and  resolved  to  meet  the  Mohawks  in  battle.  A  host 
of  Mohawk  warriors,  thirsting  for  vengeance,  hurried 
on  the  forest  trails  to  Canandaigua,  and  the  hostile 
ranks  were  about  to  close  in  deadly  contest  when  one 
of  the  Mohawk  girls  cried  out: 

"See!   the  Great  Spirit  is  angry!" 

She  pointed  to  the  sky,  and,  all  eyes  following  hers, 
they  saw  the  sun  in  heaven  beginning  to  darken. 
Swiftly  its  light  was  withdrawn  and  night  fell  upon 
the  lake  and  the  forest.  The  warriors  of  both  tribes 
dropped  to  their  knees,  and  then  an  aged  sachem  of 
237 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    T  PI  E    NAKED    EYE 

the  Senecas  called  for  the  peace-pipe.  As  it  passed 
from  lip  to  lip,  the  darkness  lightened,  the  sun 
slowly  reappeared,  and  in  a  short  time  his  smiling 
face  was  again  bent  down  upon  his  red  children.  The 
captives  were  surrendered,  reparation  was  made,  and 
the  Mohawks,  with  full  quivers,  marched  back  to 
their  valley  home.  The  late  Professor  Lewis  Swift 
showed  that  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  visible  in 
central  and  western  New  York  on  June  28,  1451,  and 
this  fact  has  been  regarded  as  affirming  the  historic 
accuracy  of  the  Indian  tradition,  as  well  as  fixing  a 
date  for  the  event. 

On  the  other  hand,  lunar  eclipses  sometimes  caused 
great  terror.  Plutarch,  in  his  Life  of  Nicias,  has  a 
curious  story  in  point.  When  the  Athenian  army, 
baffled  before  Syracuse,  was  about  to  embark  for 
home,  there  happened  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  "at 
which,"  says  Plutarch,  "Nicias  and  all  the  rest  were 
struck  with  a  great  panic,  either  through  ignorance 
or  superstition.  As  for  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which 
happens  at  the  conjunction,  even  the  common  people 
had  some  idea  of  its  being  caused  by  the  interposition 
*of  the  moon.  But  they  could  not  easily  form  a  con- 
ception by  the  interposition  of  what  body  the  moon, 
when  at  the  full,'  should  lose  her  light  and  assume 
such  a  variety  of  colors.  They  looked  upon  it,  there- 
fore, as  a  strange  and  preternatural  phenomenon,  a 
sign  by  which  the  gods  announced  some  great  calam- 
ity." 

The  reader  will  observe  that  even  in  their  terror  the 
frightened  soldiers  did  not  fail  to  note  the  curious 
coloration  of  the  eclipsed  moon,  due,  as  we  now 
238 


THE    MOON 

know,  to  the  refraction  of  light  by  the  earth's  at- 
mosphere. 

But  eclipses  were  not  universally  considered  by  the 
ancients  as  miraculous  events.  Better  instructed 
minds  perceived  that  there  was  a  regular  recurrence 
of  these  phenomena,  and  that  they  were  connected 
with  the  movements  of  the  moon.  Thales  is  said 
to  have  predicted  the  solar  eclipse  of  585  B.C.,  and 
Hipparchus  ascertained  the  general  law  of  the  moon's 
motions.  Even  the  Chaldeans  knew  that  eclipses  re- 
cur in  a  certain  order  during  every  successive  period 
of  eighteen  years,  and  to  this  period  was  given  the 
name  Saros. 

The  revolution  of  the  moon  naturally  gave  rise  to 
the  division  of  time  into  months.  All  would  have 
been  very  simple  if  the  moon's  time  of  revolution 
had  been  an  exact  fraction  of  the  year.  Then  every 
year  would  have  had  precisely  twelve  lunar  months. 
But  the  time  from  one  new  moon  to  the  next  is  about 
twenty-nine  and  a  half  days,  and  the  problem  that 
the  calendar-makers  had  to  solve  was  how  to  adjust 
this  so  as  to  give  a  fixed  number  of  months  to  th^j 
year.  This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  a  discussion 
of  the  difficult  subject  of  the  settling  of  the  calendar, 
which  is  dealt  with  in  ordinary  school-books  of  as- 
tronomy, but  it  may  be  remarked  that  as  a  result  of 
the  necessary  adjustments  new  and  full  moons  may 
occur  at  any  time  in  the  course  of  our  present  months. 
So  the  name  month  (undoubtedly  derived  from  the 
same  root  as  moon,  just  as  the  original  idea  of  a 
month  was  suggested  by  the  moon's  period  of  rev- 
olution) no  longer  possesses  more  than  a  historic 
239 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 

connection  with  the  monthly  traveller  through  the 
sky. 

Another,  and  practically  a  much  more  important, 
relation  of  the  moon  to  the  earth  is  seen  in  the  tides. 
Both  the  sun  and  the  moon  raise  tides  in  the  ocean, 
but  those  of  the  moon  are  much  the  higher,  simply 
because  she  is  so  near.  This  is  a  technical  subject 
beyond  the  intended  scope  of  our  book,  but  it  is  in- 
teresting to  remember  that  but  for  the  tides  produced 
by  the  moon  some  of  the  most  important  harbors  on 
the  earth  would  be  shut  against  deep-draught  ships. 

Those  who  look  at  the  new  moon  often  see  the 
whole  face  of  her  globe  faintly  illuminated,  the  bright 
crescent  seeming  to  border  it  like  a  silver  handle. 
Even  some  of  the  ancients  recognized  the  fact  that 
this  light  comes  from  the  earth.  At  such  times  the 
earth  hangs  in  the  lunar  sky  as  a  round,  gleaming  ball 
of  portentous  size,  many  times  larger  than  the  full 
moon  looks  to  us,  and  the  faint  illumination  that  we 
see  on  the  part  of  the  moon  hidden  from  the  sun  is 
earth  light. 

In  her  course  through  the  zodiac — for  the  moon  fol- 
lows, practically,  the  same  path  as  the  planets — she 
often  passes  over,  or  occults,  stars,  and  occasionally 
planets.  These  phenomena  are  interesting  to  observe 
with  the  naked  eye,  if  the  star  occulted  happens  to  be 
a  bright  one.  If  the  occultation  occurs  near  the  time 
of  new  moon,  or  first  quarter,  the  star  disappears  be- 
hind the  dark  part  of  the  moon  as  if  it  had  been 
snuffed  out.  When  the  moon  is  crescent-shaped  the 
star,  just  before  its  disappearance,  often  looks  as  if 
it  were  inside  the  horns  of  the  moon,  and  this  appear- 
240 


THE    MOON 

ance  is  so  deceptive  that  some  people  think  that  the 
moon  really  can  carry  a  star  in  her  arms.  The  month- 
ly progress  of  the  moon  through  the  zodiacal  con- 
stellations, and  her  conjunctions  with  the  planets  and 
the  first  and  second  magnitude  stars,  or  with  clusters 
like  the  Pleiades  and  the  Hyades,  are  among  the  most 
captivating  sights  that  astronomy  with  the  naked  eye 
has  to  offer. 

The  idea  that  the  moon  exercises  an  important  in- 
fluence on  the  weather  has  no  scientific  foundation, 
all  attempts  to  establish  such  an  influence  having 
failed.  So,  too,  the  supposed  influence  of  the  moon 
on  the  sap  in  trees,  and  on  the  growth  of  plants  has 
no  basis  except  that  of  a  wide-spread  popular  belief. 


INDEX 


ACHERNAR,   38,    168. 

Achilles  likened  to  Sirius,  42. 

Al  Aaraaf,  147. 

Al  Bali,  131. 

Albireo,  127. 

Al  Chiba,  77. 

Alcor,  69. 

Alcyone,  23. 

Aldebaran,  8,  n,  21,  22. 

Alderamin,  136. 

Alfirk,  !36. 

Algenib/133,  153. 

Algieda,  122. 

Algol,  152. 

Alioth,  71. 

Al  Jauzah,  36. 

Allen,  Richard  Hinckley,  17,  22, 
26,  28,  36,  38,  41,  46,  65,  71, 
73,  78,  80,  108,  163. 

Almaak,  141. 

Alphacca,  93. 

Alpha  Centauri,  165. 

Alpha  Draconis,  98. 

Alphard.  62. 

Alpheratz,  133,  141. 

Al  Rischa,  139. 

Altair,  115. 

Amazon  Star,  the,  32. 

Andromeda,  3,  4.  141;  mytholo- 
gy of,  142;  telescopic  objects, 

145- 

Antares,  8,  n,  102,  104. 
Antinoiis,   115. 

Aquarius,  130;  mythology  of,  131. 
Aquila,  115;  mythology  of,  116; 

telescopic  objects,  117. 
Ara,  1 66. . 


Aratus,  3. 

Arctic  constellation,  2. 

Arcturus,  7,  90,  91. 

Argo  Navis,  158. 

Ariadne's  Crown,  94. 

Ariadne's  Hair,  84. 

Aries,   148;  mythology  of,   148; 

telescopic  objects,  150. 
Arion,  legend  of,  125. 
Atlas,  23,  28. 
Arthur's  Wain,  70. 
Aselli,   57. 
Asterion,  85. 
Asterope,  23,  28. 
Astrasa,  80. 
Auriga,    18;   mythology  of,    19; 

telescopic  objects,  20. 

BEAR  DRIVER,  90. 

Beehive,  the,  60. 

Bellatrix,  32,  33. 

Belt,  Orion's,  24,  31,  33. 

Benetnasch,  71. 

Berenice's  Hair,   7. 

Betelgeuse,  u,  30,  32. 

Bird,  Great  Storm,  78. 

Bird,  the  Red,  78. 

Bootes,    2,    89;    mentioned    by 

Homer,  89;  mythology  of,  92; 

telescopic  objects,  92. 

CAMELOPARDALIS,  20. 

Cancer,   57;  mythology  of,   60; 

telescopic  objects,   61. 
Canes  Venatici,  85. 
Canis  Major,  42;  mythology  of, 

46;  telescopic  objects,  47. 


243 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 


Canis  Minor.  48;  telescopic  ob- 
jects, 50. 

Canopus,  46,  159,  161. 

Capella,  n,  18. 

Caph,  146. 

Capricornus,  122;  mythology  of, 
123;  telescopic  objects,  124. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  on  Canopus, 
1 60. 

Cassiopeia,  145;  seen  at  My- 
cenae, 3;  telescopic  objects, 

147- 

Castor,  50,  53. 
Celaeno,  28. 
Centaurus,  164. 
Cepheus,    135;    mythology    of, 

136;  telescopic  objects,  136. 
Cetus,   155;  mythology  of,  156; 

telescopic  objects,  157. 
Chara,  85. 
Charioteer,  the,  18. 
Charles's  Wain,  69,  70. 
Chi  Persei,  153. 
Coal  Sack,  the,  176. 
Colas,  T.  A.,  34. 
Columoa,  41. 
Coma  Berenices,   83;  telescopic 

objects,   84. 
Constellations,  seen  from  Mount 

Etna,  5;  and  the  seasons,  6. 
Cor  Caroli,  85. 
Cor  Hydrae,  62. 
Corn  Mother,  the,  80. 
Corona  Borealis,  93;  mythology 

of,  94;  telescopic  objects,  94. 
Coronis,  story  of,  78. 
Corvus,  77. 
Cor  Serpentis,  106. 
Crater    75. 
Cursa   38. 
Cygnus,  127;  telescopic  objects, 

129;  star  "61,"  128. 
Cynosura,  96. 

DABIH,   122. 
Dancing  Bears,  the,  72. 
Delphinus,    124;    telescopic  ob- 
jects, 125. 
Delta  Librae,  89. 


Deluge  and  the  Pleiades,  27. 
Deneb,   127. 
Deneb  Kaitos,  155. 
Denebola,  66. 
Diamond  of  Virgo,  79. 
Donati's  comet  and  Arcturus,  91 . 
Draco,   98;   mythology  of,  100; 

telescopic  objects,  101. 
Druids,  cult  of  Pleiades,  27. 
Dubhe,  71. 

EAGLE  of  the  winds,  115. 

Electra,  23,  28. 

El  Nath,  1 8,  24. 

Equuleus,  125. 

Eridanus,  3  7 ;  mythology  of,  38; 
telescopic  objects,  39;  south- 
ern, 1 68. 

Erigone,  81. 

Eta  Argus,  1 60. 

Euro  pa,  myth  of,  25,  26. 

FRIGID  MAIDEN,  the,  79. 
Fomalhaut,  131. 

GAMMA  DRACONIS,  99,  100. 
Garnet  Star,  Herschel's,  137. 
Gate  of  the  Gods,  123. 
Gemma,  93. 
Gemini,   50;  mythology  of,   52; 

telescopic  objects,  55. 
Golconda  of  the  heavens,  30. 
Golden  Age,  the,  80. 
Golden  Fleece,  the,  100,  101. 
Golden  Ox,  the,  26. 
Gomeiza,  49. 
Great  Dipper,  the,  69. 
Great  Square  of  Pegasus,  132. 
Greenwich  of  the  sky,  138. 
Grus,  167. 

HARMONY  in  the  heavens,  13. 

Head  of  Draco,  99. 

Head  of  Orion,  34. 

Helice,  72,  96. 

Hercules,    107;    mythology    of, 

1 08;   telescopic  objects,    no; 

great  cluster  in,  no;  motion 

towards,  109. 


244 


INDEX 


Hood,  Dr.  Thomas,  73. 
Hydra,  6,  61 ;  mythology  of,  62. 

JASON,  5,  100,  101. 

Job.  reference  to  Pleiades,  23 ;  to 
Arcturus,  90. 

Job's  Coffin,  124. 

Jupiter,  216;  various  names  of, 
216;  astrology  of,  216;  dis- 
tance and  appearance,  217; 
oppositions  of,  217;  moons  of, 
218;  Galileo's  discoveries,  218; 
density  of,  219;  clouds  on, 
219;  habitability  of,  219; 
Red  Spot  on,  220;  gravity  on, 

321. 

KARNAK,  temple  of,  100. 
Kern  Baby,  the,  80. 
Kochab,  95. 

LACERTA,  135. 

Laconian  Key,  the,  146. 

Landmarks,  stars  as,  i. 

Lantern  Feast  and  Pleiades,  27. 

Leo,  65;  mvthology,  67;  tele- 
scopic objects,  68. 

Leo  Minor,  68. 

Lepus,  40. 

Lewis,  Sir  G.  C.,  23,  72. 

Libra,  87;  mythology  of,  88. 

Lilac  stars,  84. 
;  Little  Dipper,  the,  95. 

Lynx,   55. 

i  Lyra,    118;  mythology  of,   120; 
telescopic  objects,  120. 

f  MAGELLANIC  CLOUDS,  2,  169. 
i  Magnitudes,  stellar,   10. 
Magi,  star  of  the,  84,  140. 
j  Magpie  Bridge,  the,  116. 
Maia,   23. 
Manger,  the  57. 

:Mars,    209;    various   names   of, 
210;   astrology    of,    210;   op- 
positions of,  21 1 ;  gravity  on, 
i     212;    polar   caps  of,  212;  at- 
mosphere  of,    212;    "canals" 
i    on,    213;-  irrigation    of,    214; 


giants  on,  215;  moons  of, 
2IS- 

Markab,  133. 

Mazzaroth,  44. 

Medusa,  4,  152. 

Megrez,  71. 

Menkalina,  18. 

Menkar,  155. 

Merak,  71. 

Mercury,  192;  astrology  of,  193; 
and  naked  eye,  195;  transits 
of,  197;  density  of,  197;  life  on, 
198;  rotation  of,  199;  tem- 
perature on,  200. 

Meridian,  definition  of,  16. 

Merope,  23,  28. 

Mesarthim,  150. 

Milk  Dipper,  the,  112. 

Milky  Way.  the,  171;  Galileo  on, 
172;  shape  of,  173;  constella- 
tions, 174;  details  of,  175; 
stars  near,  178;  distance  of, 
179;  mythology  of,  179. 

Mira  (o  Ceti),  156. 

Mirach,  141. 

Mirzam,   45. 

Mizar,  69. 

Monoceros,  48. 

Moon,  the,  fancies  about  man  in, 
227;  fancies  about  woman  in, 
228;  the  hare  in,  230;  wor- 
ship of,  230;  gender  of  230; 
origin  of,  232;  eclipses,  234,  et 
seq.\  phases  of,  233;  supersti- 
tions about  eclipses,  237,  238; 
and  the  months,  239;  and 
the  tides,  240;  earthlight  on, 
240;  occultations  by,  240;  and 
weather,  241 ;  and  plants,  241. 

Music  of  the  Spheres,  191. 

NAMES  of  constellations,  3. 

Nebula,  in  Orion,  34;  the  Whirl- 
pool, 86:  Dumb-bell,  126;  An- 
dromeda, 142;  the  Ring,  120; 
the  Key- hole,  161. 

Nebula;,  Field  of  the,  82. 

Nimrod,  36. 

Northern  Cross,  7,  127. 


245 


ASTRONOMY    WITH    THE    NAKED    EYE 


North  Star,  the,  95. 

OCTANT,  161. 

Onondaga  Indians  and  Pleiades, 

12,  26. 
Ophiuchus,   105;  mythology  of, 

105;  telescopic  objects,  106. 
Orihim6  (see  Spinning  Damsel), 

116,  181. 
Orion,  2,  3,  7,  30;  origin  of,  31; 

mythology  of,   35;  telescopic 

objects,  36. 

PEGASUS.    132;    mythology    of. 

133;  telescopic  objects,  135. 
Perseus,    3,    4,    143,    151;    new 

star   in,    152;   telescopic    ob- 
jects, 154. 
Phaed,  71. 
Phaet,  41. 
Phaeton,  39. 
Phoenice,  95. 
Phoenix,   167. 
Pisces.  138;  mythology  of,  139; 

telescopic  objects,    140. 
Piscis  Australis,  131. 
Planets,  the,  186;  how  to  find. 

189. 

Pleiad,  the  Lost,  23,  28. 
Pleiades,  21,  23;  photographs  of , 

24- 

Pleione,  28. 
Plough,  the,  69. 
Pointers,  the,  71. 
Polaris,  j>5;  and  the  slaves,  96. 
Pole,     position     of    true,     146; 

southern,  161. 
Pollux,  50,  53. 
Praesepe,  57. 

Prince  of  the  Zodiac,  149. 
Procyon,  n,  48. 
Prosper  Henry,   n. 
Pyramid,  the  Great,  27,  99. 

RAS  ALGETHI,  109. 
Ras  Alhague,  105. 
Regulus,  65. 
Rigel,  30,  32,  38. 
Ring  Nebula,   120. 


Royal  Stars,  the,  66. 
Ruchbar,  146. 

SADALMEI.IK,  131. 

Sadalsuud,  131. 

Sagitta,  117. 

Sagittarius,  112;  star  clusters  in, 
112;  mythology  of,  113;  tele- 
scopic objects,  114. 

St.  Paul,  53. 

Saturn,  221;  astrology  of,  222; 
density  of,  223;  rings  of, 
223;  Galileo's  discoveries,  224; 
habitability  of,  224;  possible 
knowledge  of,  at  Nineveh,  224. 

Scheat,   131,  133. 

Schedar,  146. 

Scorpio,  102;  mythology  of,  103; 
telescopic  objects,  104. 

Scutum  Sobieskii,  114. 

Seiss,  Rev.  Joseph  A.,  his  "gos- 
pel mythology,"  20,  29,  36, 
39,  40,  46,  54,  63,  67,  73,  76, 
78,  82,  89,  98,  101,  104,  109, 
117,  124,  131.  149,  154,  156. 

Septentriones,  the,  71. 

Serpens,  1 05 ;  mythology  of ,  106; 
telescopic  objects,  106. 

Seven  Little  Indians,  70. 

Seven  Stars,  the,  71. 

Sextans.   74. 

Sickle,  the,  65. 

Sirius,  3,  9,  n,  42,  47,  88;  size 
of,  44;  crossed  Milky  Way,  43. 

Southern  Cross,  2,  162. 

Spica,  7,  ii,  78. 

Spinning  Damsel,  the,  1 1 6. 

Stars,  as  sentinels,  i ;  personal 
influence  of,  2;  and  seasons, 
7;  individuality  of,  9;  colors 
of,  1 1 ;  grouping  of,  1 1 ;  har- 
monious effect  of,  12. 

Sword  of  Orion,  34. 

TANABATA,  festival  of,  116. 
Taurus,   21;  mythology  of,   25; 

telescopic  objects,  30. 
Taygeta,  23,  28. 
Tennyson  on  Pleiades,  24. 


INDEX 


Thor's  Wagon,   73. 
Three  Guides,  the,  133. 
Thuban,  98. 
Toucan,  167. 
Triangle,  the,  166. 
Triangulum,  150. 
Twins,  the  sailors'  stars,  54. 
Tycho  Brahe's  star,  146. 

UNUKALHAI,  106. 

Ursa  Major,  69;   mythology  of, 

72;  telescopic  objects,   74. 
Ursa  Minor,  95;  mythology  of, 

97;  telescopic  objects,  98. 

"V,"  the  letter,  21,  22. 
Vega,  ii,  118,  119,  120. 
Venus,   201;  astrology  of,   203; 

Galileo's      discoveries,       204; 

transits  of,    205;   habitability 

of,   206;  atmosphere  of,   206; 

temperature  on,  206;  surface 


features  of,    207;   appearance 

of   earth   from,    208;    upright 

axis  of,  209. 
Vindemiatrix,  80. 
Virgo,  7,  78;  mythology,  of  80; 

telescopic  objects,  82. 
Vulpecula,  126. 

"W,"  the  letter,  145. 
Water-bearer,  the,  130. 
White  Ox,  the,  170. 
White  Tiger,  the,  26. 

"X"  CLASS,  Professor  New- 
comb's,  159. 

Xavier  de  Maistre,  remark  about 
stars,  1 2 . 

ZODIAC,  the,  138. 
Zodiacal  Light,  the,  182. 
Zubenelgenubi,  88. 
Zubeneschemali,  88. 


THE    END 


7922 


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